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ARTHUR  j.  THOMSON 


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Ci'( 


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SWINGING.} 

LANTERNS 


A  RACY,  RAILROADING  REVIEW 

OF 

TRANSPORTATION  MATTERS,  METHODS  AND  MEN 
By  John  Morison  Copeland 


For  additional  copies  of  this  book,  or  duplicate  prints 
of  the  illustrations  for  office,  den  or  mailing  communi- 
cate with 

J.  M.  COPELAND 
5  Dalton  Road,  Toronto 

Telephone,  College  185 


TORONTO,     CANADA 

ADD1SON    &    MAINPRICE 

I  •  1  • 


FOREWORD 

IN  compiling  the  miscellaneous  array  of  facts  embodied  in  the  pen  sketches 
arranged  within  the  covers  of  this  book,  the  principal  object  striven  for 
has  been  to  seek  out,  set  down  and  thereby  rescue    from    forgetfulness 
and  the  danger  of  extinction,  a  grist  of  information  pertaining  to  local  railway 
life  in  Canada  and  to  men  identified  with  international  railway  affairs. 

The  data  is  necessarily  incomplete,  owing  to  the  embarrassment  of  avail- 
able material  clamoring  for  place  and  because  the  railways'  numerous  depart- 
ments harbor  scores  of  brilliant  officials  and  a  host  of  yet  undecorated  aides, 
but  the  biographies,  particularly,  have  revived  some  interesting  early  history 
which  was  the  parent  and  foundation  of  present-day  conditions. 

The  concentrated  effort  and  predominant  characteristics  which  eventually 
won  prominence  for  the  gentlemen  herein  featured  may  be  an  incentive  and 
safeguard  to  young  men  and  the  journal  is  deferentially  submitted  for  perusal 
to  all  readers  who  appreciate  how  paramount  among  vital  essentials  to  pro- 
gress and  comfort  are  the  railroads,  but  it  is  especially  dedicated  to  those 
cosmopolitans  whose  duties  are  so  closely  interwoven  with  the  daily  transport 
of  people  and  their  natural  and  manufactured  products. 

In  no  other  fields  of  endeavor  does  the  spirit  of  genuine  earner aderie  and 
the  bonds  of  unconventional  fraternity  exist  more  generally  than  among 
railway  men  in  all  branches — among  allies  and  competitors  alike — and  it  is 
hoped  the  work  will  prove  to  this  irregular  army  of  " thoroughbreds"  a  book 
of  reference,  a  reminder  later  on  of  former  devotees  of  the  magnetic  game 
and  also  perpetuate  those  splendid  standards,  enjoyable  gatherings  and  ever 
changing  activities  of  their  day. 

For  the  courtesy  of  reprinting  privileges,  where  my  earlier  articles  are 
concerned,  I  am  indebted  to  "Busy  Man's  Magazine,  "Canadian  Century," 
"McLean's  Magazine,"  "Canada  Monthly,"  etc.,  etc.,  and  gratefully  acknow- 
ledge the  voluntary  kindness  of  friends  who  unlocked  the  storehouses  of  mem- 
ory or  cheerfully  furnished  desired  photographs  and  engravings. 

The  indulgence  of  the  reader  is  requested  should  he  observe  a  discrepancy 
affecting  the  title,  employer  or  location  of  any  individual,  resulting  from  change 
or  promotion  between  the  time  of  preparation  and  publication  of  these  papers. 

j.  M.  c. 


To  MY  BROTHER, 

WHOSE  ENCOURAGEMENT  AND  CONFIDENCE  MADE  LIGHTER  THE  TASK 

OF  WRITING  THESE  MANUSCRIPTS  AND  PREPARING 

THE  ILLUSTRATIONS  HEREIN. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Navigators  of  the  Blue 6 

A  Deceased  Canadian  Railroad 7 

Ontario's  Twin  Sister — Grand  Trunk  Railway 12 

William  H.  Biggar .'..      16 

Sir  Thomas  Dakin's  Locomotive 19 

Toronto  and  Nipissing  Railway 20 

An  Old  Campaigner's  Career 21 

Knights  of  the  Swinging  Lanterns 25 

Credit  Valley  Railway — Milton  Celebration 26 

Crusade  of  "U.S.A."  Railway  Interests  in  Canada 28 

Thomas  A.  Edison 47 

A  Gigantic  Human  Hive— C.P.R 52 

William  B.  Lanigan 54 

James  Charlton 56 

Uncle  Sam's  Adopted  Sons 61 

Samuel  R.  Callaway 74 

Thomas  N.  Jarvis 77 

Geo.  J.  Charlton 79 

A  Reveler's  Dream 83 

Andrew  J.  Taylor 87 

Business  Getter's  Competition 90 

Lines  to  Queen  Quinte 94 

The  Canadian  Northern  Railway  System 95 

A  Tenderfoot  in  Temiskaming 99 

William  P.  Duperow 106 

Those  Undignified  Box  Cars 112 

Frederic  P.  Nelson 123 

A  Pilfered  Pot  Pourri 126 

The  Trail  of  the  Serpent 129 

A  Haphazard  Chronology 136 

Ballad  to  the  Brotherhood. .  145 


NAVIGATORS  OF  THE  BLUE 

Carrier  pigeons — pioneers  in  aerial   transportation 

Decoration  by  ALBERTA  L.  TORY 

Aloft  in  the  frigid  lanes  they  soar, 
High  over  dormant  farm  and  city's   roar: 
Their  tireless  pinions  wrestle  with  the  breeze 
That  wails  athwart   the  solemn,   leafless   trees. 

Above  the  brooks  asleep  'neath  crystal  shrouds, 
And  o'er  white  winter's  mantle  from  the  clouds, 
Swift  pigeons  wheel  and  spiral  t'wards  the  sun, 
Exultant  in  new  triumphs  daily  won. 

Atoms  these — of  pulsating  life  on  wing, 

Each  flouts  the  sordid  earth  and  ether's  sting: 

Unconsciously,  they  realize  a  Plan 

Which    mortals   match   with   faulty   ships   of   Man. 


A  DECEASED  CANADIAN  RAILWAY 

The  Sheriff  Runs  Away  From  His  Spoils 


WHEN  Sir  John  Franklin,  arctic  naviga- 
tor, with  canoe  crews  of  Indians  and 
voyageurs,  eastbound  after  exploring 
the  Great  Lakes,  pitched  wigwams  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1839  at  the  confluence  of  stream  and 
lake  where  the  nucleus  of  present  Cobourg, 
Canada,  was  taking  root,  little  did  these 
adventurous  and  actual  forerunners  of  easy 
steam  locomotion  think  that  from  a  point 
where  they  camped  a  railroad  would  thirteen 
years  later  bisect  the  unbroken  forest.  Yet, 
it  is  so,  and  the  whirligig  of  time  has,  likewise, 
seen  recorded  the  obituary  of  that  railway- 
has  witnessed  the  effacement  of  the  name  of 
those  early  laid  metal  ribbons  from  the  time 
tables  of  a  young  country  which  still  hungers 
and  lobbies  for  more  and  more  tracks  and 
trams. 


S.  E.  MACKECHNIE 
Mayor  of  Cobourg,  1853. 


Cobourg  and  thereabouts,  is  ancient  terri- 
tory as  settlements  go  nowadays.  In  1796  the 
district  was  surveyed.  Eluid  Nickerson,  who 

espoused  the  United  Empire  Loyalist  cause,  took  out  the  first  patent  in  1802 
during  the  reign  of  King  George  III.,  but  in  spite  of  its  monarchial  predilec- 
tions, the  locality  has  long  been  of  interest  to  our  cousins  of  high  and  low 
degree  living  south  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  a  few  years  after  the  construction  of 
Cobourg  and  Peterborough  Railway,  of  which  I  speak,  several  iron  masters 
and  capitalists  from  Pittsburg  acquired  the  property,  altering  somewhat  its 
original  mission. 

The  prospectus  of  this  pioneer  Canadian  line  was  mooted  in  1851  by  local 
promoters:  it  took  definite  form  in  1852  and  on  February  7th,  1853,  Lady 
Mayoress,  Mrs.  S.  E.  MacKechnie,  officiated  in  the  ceremony  of  turning  the 
first  sod  amidst  tremendous  public  enthusiasm.  As  early  as  1844  a  daily 
stage  ran  in  winter  from  Peterborough  to  Cobourg  and  Port  Hope,  and  in 
summer  the  steamboat  ''Forrester"  plied  to  Harwood  and  connected  with  the 
stage  coaches.  Close  in  the  wake  of  this  propitious  beginning  construction 
advanced,  while  feathered  and  furry  prowlers  of  the  virgin  woods  had  their 
curiosity  piqued  by  strange  sights  and  sounds.  Under  the  supervision  of 
chief  engineer  Ira  Spaulding,  contractors  Zimmerman  and  Balch  pushed  the 
line  through  valley  and  glade  to  Rice  Lake's  fertile,  sloping  shores  at  Har- 
wood where,  later,  sawmills  sawed  the  stately  pines  that  arrived  in  drives 
from  Otonabee.  During  the  following  year  Mr.  Zimmerman  collaborated  in 
the  extension  as  far  as  Peterborough,  his  tragic  death  in  the  des  Jardins  Canal 


disaster  at  Hamilton,  March,  1857,  terminating  a  useful  life.  Steel  rails  were 
an  experimental  luxury,  iron  scarce  and  expensive  and  timber  often  replaced 
them.  Antique  locomotives  with  impossible  superstructures  coughed  and 
squeaked  along,  meanwhile  eating  a  mighty  hole  in  the  wood  pile,  for  coal  and 
oil  burners  were  not  contrived,  and  what  a  risk  it  was  to  venture  between  the 
oscillating  cars.  Though  crudely  equipped,  the  road  was  nevertheless,  a 
startling  and  welcome  innovation  for  abbreviating  space.  The  Grand  Trunk 
Railway  had  not  yet  been  built  and  the  saddle  horse  and  coach  were  the  only 
substitutes  for  pedestrianism.  Picture,  if  you  can,  a  journey  inside  a  two 
teamed  springless  stage,  tediously  winding  westward  past  bear  haunt,  swamp 
and  river;  for  instance,  over  the  historic,  old  military  road  from  Kingston. 
It  must  have  been  a  hunter's  paradise. 

The  bridging  of  Rice  Lake  was  a  large  undertaking  at  the  period  and 
proved  a  burden  from  which  the  management  never  recovered.  This  structure 
became  notorious  later  for  several  reasons.  From  Harwood  to  Tick  Island, 
some  distance  off  shore,  a  rilling  was  made  and  the  bridge  trestles  were  pro- 
jected two  miles  across  the  westerly  loop  of  the  lake  to  where  Hiawatha  Indian 
settlement  still  harbors  the  fishing  and  rice  gathering  sons  and  daughters  of 
sires  long  since  passed  to  the  happy  hunting  grounds.  You  may  see  them  any 
summer  day  vieing  with  "Alderville"  redskins  from  near  Roseneath,  in  deftly 
wielding  the  paddle,  as  of  yore  when  their  forebears  fought  fiercely  all  around 
that  favored  camping  place. 

In  winter  of  1857,  when  the  frost  and  ice  heaved  the  bridge,  four-horse 
sleighs  transported  passengers  inland  between  Harwood,  the  Indian  village 
and  station  at  Ashburnham,  seven  miles  north.  To  take  charge  of  this  old 
depot,  which  afterwards  became  a  canoe  factory,  Donald  Sutherland  was  the 
first  appointed  and  Mr.  Roe  Buck  became  the  Cobourg  representative.  William 
Von  Ingen,  now  collector  of  His  Majesty's  Customs  levy  at  Woodstock,  Ont., 
collected  tickets  covering  the  run  of  about  twenty-five  miles  which  cost  $1.00 
per  capital  and  entitled  one  to  all  privileges  save  the  compartment  sleeper  and 
electric  fans,  which  had  not  yet  been  adopted. 

It  is  said  that  John  Fowler,  charter  corporation  member  and  first  manager, 
whose  regime  did  not  fill  the  company's  coffers,  made  towards  the  close  of  his 
term,  a  financial  coup  d'  etat  with  the  Midland,  Port  Perry,  Lindsay  &  Beaver- 
ton  Railway.  He  was  succeeded  by  Lieut. -Colonel  D'Arcy  E.  Boulton,  a 
Cobourg  aristocrat  who  rented  the  "C.  &  P."  property  in  1857  and  battled 
valiantly  against  odds  in  an  endeavor  to  place  the  road  on  a  paying  basis. 
This  railway's  legitimate  traffic — forest  products  and  lumber — were  hauled 
for  several  years  from  the  interior  to  the  docks  at  Cobourg,  thence  by  schooner 
to  various  lake  ports,  but  time  wrought  changes  and  debt  became  the  most 
formidable  obstacle  to  progress. 

It  is  recounted  that  one  forenoon  long  ago  the  sheriff  unexpectedly  boarded 
a  northbound  UC.  &  P."  train  on  which  the  superintendent  was  also  travelling. 


« 


LADY  DUFFERIN. 

A    distinguished    passenger   who   rode 
over  the   C.P.   &   M.    Ry.,    1874. 


Although  the  latter  was  not  a  mind 
reader  he  had  a  presentment  that  the 
sheriff's  presence  might  not  auger  well 
for  his  particular  department.  Every- 
thing was  as  placid  as  the  lake  itself 
until  the  train  approached  the  height  of 
land  at  Summit,  nine  miles  up  from 
Cobourg,  when  the  brakes  controlling 
rear  car  in  which  the  court  official  sat 
in  tranquil  state,  were  locked  and  the 
coupling  pin  withdrawn.  A  retrograde 
movement  quickly  followed  and  the 
sheriff  was  powerless  to  stem  the  pro- 
gress of  his  unwilling  hurry.  As  though 
the  evil  one  was  after  him,  down  grade 
rolled  the  flustered  occupant  of  the 
flying  carriage  to  where  it  started. 
Nothing  daunting,  the  sheriff  procured 
a  team  and  drove  thirteen  miles  back 
to  Harwood,  but  found  on  arrival  that 
everything  not  nailed  down,  including 
attachable  railway  equipment,  etc., 
had  forsaken  Northumberland  and  was 
transferred  across  the  bridge  to  the 
next  county. 

Early  in  the  day  of  September  7th, 
1860,  a  "special"  moved  over  the  "C.  & 
P."  conveying  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales 
and  suite  from  Cobourg  to  Harwood 


en  route  Peterborough.  As  the  old  bridge  was  considered  unsafe  for  this 
precious  young  patron  and  entourage,  they  were  much  interested  in  being 
ferried  across  Rice  Lake  to  the  Mississauga  Indian  settlement  near  the  mouth 
of  the  winding  Otonabee  River,  from  which  point  the  late  Robert  White, 
highly  respected  for  leagues  around,  enjoyed  the  honor  and  privilege  of  driving 
Royalty  and  his  retinue  to  Peterborough. 

After  the  Civil  War  the  road  came  into  possession  of  a  genial  Virgianian, 
Colonel  William  Chambliss  and  his  confreres,  Messrs.  Schoenburg  and  Fitz- 
hugh  from  the  South,  with  interests  in  Pennsylvania.  Colonel  Chambliss 
was  elected  managing  director,  the  title  was  changed  to  Cobourg,  Peterborough 
&  Marmora  Railway  &  Mining  Company,  and  its  new  purpose  was  hauling 
iron  ore  destined  Cleveland  from  Marmora  mines  to  vessels  at  Cobourg.  This 
ore  was  moved  on  scows  from  Blairton  to  Harwood. 

The  old  Parliament  of  Upper  Canada  had  incorporated  the  earlier  organiza- 
tion and  in  1869  an  Act  was  passed  legalizing  the  amalgamation  of  railway  and 
mining  company. 


During  the  summer  of  1874  the  Vice-Regal  couple,  Lord  and  Lady  Dufferin, 
participated  in  an  eleven  hour  outing  from  Cobourg  via  C.P.  &  M.R.  &  M.  Co., 
Harwood,  Rice  Lake  steamer  and  Hastings,  and  extracts  from  the  Countess' 
description  of  their  ore  mine  inspection  and  experiences,  as  set  down  in  Her 
Ladyship's  diary  at  the  time,  reads  as  follows: — 

"I  did  not  expect  to  care  the  least  about  it  as  we  had  seen  so  many 
untidy,  stoney,  barren  places  called  mines,  but  this  one  was  really  an 
interesting  sight.  We  found  ourselves  at  the  top  of  an  enormous  hole  or 
cavern,  140  feet  deep,  large  in  proportion,  perfectly  open  and  light  as 
day.  The  men  looked  like  imps  as  they  worked  below  and  it  was  the 
sort  of  thing  one  sees  represented,  in  miniature,  in  a  fairy  play.  The 
sides  were  walls  of  iron:  but,  alas,  coal  is  found  only  in  the  States.  .  .  . 

"When  we  returned  to  the  steamer  we  found  a  barge  tied  to  its  side 
covered  in  with  green — a  floating  arbor — in  which  lunch  was  laid :  and 
very  glad  we  were  of  it,  as  we  had  breakfasted  at  7.30  a.m.  and  it  was  now 
2.00  p.m.  The  managers  of  the.mines,  the  steamers,  etc.,  are  Americans, 
and  we  were  their  guests.  Colonel  Chambliss  and  General  Fitzhugh, 
with  their  wives  (two  sisters),  were  our  hosts.  They  lived  in  the  hotel  at 
which  we  stayed  and  are  charming  Southerners." 

It  would  appear  that  the  bridging  of  Rice  Lake  was  costly,  but  on  account 
of  engineering  difficulties,  not  permanent.  The  alternate  rigors  of  winter  and 
spring  reaction  upset  calculations  as  well  as  the  bridge's  equilibrium.  Those 
piles  which  had  no  foundation  in  fact — in  the  lake  bottom,  to  be  more  exact — 
dangled  from  the  upper  work,  an  encumbrance  instead  of  a  support  and  many 
of  the  bolts  disappeared,  some  claim  by  design  of  wrongly  disposed  persons. 
One  autumn  night,  after  a  southbound  train  from  Peterborough  had  passed 
over,  the  shivering  spans  succumbed  to  a  gale  and  disappeared.  To-day  they 
remain  the  abode  of  lunge,  bass  and  other  amphibious  denizens  of  the  waters. 

When  the  G.T.R.  failed  to  popularize  the  line  to  Harwood  for  excursions, 
several  rearrangements  of  the  railways  name  and  financial  status  subsequently 
occurred.  Acts  were  passed  by  the  Ontario  Legislature  and  in  1887,  after  the 
sale  of  the  Company's  bonds  under  an  order  of  the  Chancery  Court  the  Federal 
Parliament  incorporated  the  Cobourg,  Blairton  &  Marmora  Railway  &  Mining 
Co.  to  take  over  the  property.  The  Municipality  of  Cobourg  became  at  one 
time  a  guarantor  in  further  reorganization.  Presently,  operation  of  the  minia- 
ture system  ceased  altogether  and  protracted  litigation  was  the  precursor  of 
dissolution.  Thus  did  a  budding  nation  in  a  constructive  age  behold  a  once 
famous  railway  rust  into  oblivion. 


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11 


Type  of  Grand  Trunk  Locomotive  in  use   1853 


ONTARIO'S  TWIN  SISTER  IS  THE  GRAND  TRUNK  RAILWAY 

IF  a  vivisectionist,  adroit  with  scalpel  and  scissors,  should  dissect  and 
remove  the  bone  framework  from  the  torso  of  any  man,  that  man 
would  collapse,  and  likewise,  did  Atlas  or  Sampson  but  lift  the  Grand 
Trunk  Railway  System  from  out  the  ballasted  roadbed  in  the  Provinces  of 
Ontario  and  Quebec  and  contiguous  territory,  the  extensive  and  most  densely 
populated  area  of  Older  Canada  would  immediately  become  paralyzed  and 
inert.  Mankind  in  thousands  would  be  without  occupations,  communication 
and  the  written  word  from  the  world  outside  would  cease  in  three-quarters  of 
the  affected  zone:  again  the  over  night  journey  to  grist  mills  would  resume, 
cattle  be  herded  to  market,  the  fruits  of  the  earth  would  wither  on  the  vine 
and  the  travelling  public — wont  to  thoughtlessly  grumble  at  imagined  dis- 
crepancies in  the  time  table — would  submissively  fall  back  on  the  tri-weekly 
stage. 

How  few  of  us  reflect  upon  and  appreciate  the  amount  of  planning  and 
experiment,  figuring  and  re-adjustment  involved  in  the  preparation  of  a 
"Grand  Trunk"  folder,  where  a  maze  of  branch  line  trains  that  gridiron  the 
country  like  a  spider's  web,  must  be  dispatched  to  dovetail  with  innumerable 
main  line  connections  rolling  to  every  point  of  the  compass. 

Before  the  first  of  her  sixty-six  birthdays  was  registered  in  the  family 
bible  at  Headquarters  in  Old  London,  the  nucleii  of  the  "G.T.R."  were  con- 
ceived and  the  infant  projects  inaugurated  in  that  expectant  era  of  active 
railway  promotion  which  followed  George  Stephenson's  practical  application 
of  steam  for  motive  power  in  England  in  1815-25-45.  Although  the  earliest 
railroads  corstructed  in  Quebec  did  not  bear  its  name,  these  pioneer  highways 

12 


were  merged,  ere  long,  into  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railway  which  spread  its  lengthening 
branches  in  all  directions  like  the  gnarled 
arms  of  the  famous  green  bay  tree. 

The  Grand  Trunk  Railway  early  became 
a  definite  medium  in  realizing  the  New 
World  ambitions,  spurring  on  hundreds  of 
young  English,  Irish  and  Scotch  men.  Their 
methods  of  substantial  construction  and 
numerous  ideas  of  system  are  yet  extant 
with  this  great  Canadian  institution.  It 
has  also  been  a  school  of  diverse  experience 
and  thorough  training  for  thousands  of 
graduates  who  gravitated  to  newer  proper- 
ties and  to-day  play  their  part  in  determining 
the  policy  or  lubricating  the  clerical  machin- 
ery of  railroads  in  all  regions  enjoying  the 
benefits  of  modern  transportation. 

On  the  eve  of  these  happenings  and  during 
the  period  when  the  "Right  of  way"  lands 


CHARLES  E.  DEWEY 

Freight  Traffic  Manager, 

Grand  Trunk  Railway  System, 

Montreal,  Que. 

were  being  purchased  under  the  discriminat- 
ing supervision  of  the  late  John  Bell — first 
and  life-long  General  Counsel  of  the  "G.T. 
R" — the  voyageur  who  did  not  travel  by 
stage  coach  over  corduroy  roadways  hewn 
out  of  the  wilderness,  was  confined  to  desul- 
tory sailings  on  lake  and  bay  or  river.  The 
daily  stage  coach,  which  ran  both  ways  be- 
tween Kingston  and  Toronto  at  that  time, 
charged  per  person,  Belleville  to  Kingston, 
Ten  shillings;  and  Belleville  to  Cobourg, 
Twelve  Shillings,  Six  Pence. 

Clear  to  the  retentive  memory  of  thou- 
sands of  early  settlers  is  that  nine  days' 
wonder,  and  since  enduring  boon,  synchron- 
izing in  the  arrival  of  the  first  railway  train 
of  the  "G.T.R."  at  their  peaceful  hamlet, 
grain  elevator  or  river  mouth.  That  was  an 
event  of  superlative  importance  not  fully 
understood.  Like  them,  the  "Old  Reliable" 

13 


JOHN  PULLEN 
President,  Canadian  Express  Co. 


was  a  budding  enterprise,  she  was  Ontario's 
Twin  Sister  growing  confident  and  expanding 
step  by  step,  surmounting  difficulties,  each 
depending  on  the  other,  until  now  the  great 
and  comprehensive  public  utility  we  know  so 
well  and  vitally  need,  together  with  her  sub- 
sidiary properties,  is  a  far-reaching  inter- 
national system  comprising  8,000  miles  of 
well  equipped  railway,  embodying  an  im- 
mense investment.  That  investment,  based 
on  a  long,  discerning  and  steady  look  into 
the  future — surely  made  by  optimistic, 
adventurous  men — began  when  the  Canadas 
truly  deserved  the  petite  designation  of 
colonies  and  the  manner  in  which  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  kept 
pace  with  the  unfolding  of  our  young  na- 
tion's wonderful  possibilities  is  lucidly  out- 
lined in  a  meritorious  editorial  of  January 
12th,  1918,  which  the  Montreal  "Daily  Star" 
has  readily  permitted  me  to  reproduce 
below : — 

THE  GRAND  TRUNK  RAILWAY. 

"Last  year  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
observed  its  fiftieth  birthday.  This  year 
one  of  the  great  railway  systems  of  the 
Dominion  will  celebrate  its  sixty-sixth  anni- 
versary. Both  of  these  are  historic  events, 
proving  that  this  young  country  is  growing  up,  perhaps  not  getting  on  in 
years,  but  at  least  approaching  adolesence. 

"The  Grand  Trunk  Railway  is  practically,  if  not  actually,  the  pioneer 
railroad  of  Canada.  Before  its  advent  there  were  several  small  lines,  now  part 
of  the  Grand  Trunk  system,  but  it  remained  for  the  Grand  Trunk  to  originate 
and  carry  through  the  first  comprehensive  transportation  plan  for  serving  the 
Canada  of  the  fifties.  It  was  a  bold  scheme,  almost  a  reckless  one,  in  that 
pioneer  age,  to  link  up  Sarnia,  Ont.,  with  Portland,  Me.,  via  Toronto  and  Mont- 
real, and  to  do  so  with  a  roadbed  of  such  permanence  that  its  standards  have 
never  been  appreciably  changed  since.  The  railroad  builders  of  those  early 
days  had  faith  in  Canada,  a  faith  that  might  shame  some  of  those  living  in  a 
more  modern  era. 

"As  a  pioneer  road  the  Grand  Trunk  is  entitled  to — even  if  it  has  not 
always  received — the  fullest  measure  of  sympathy  and  encouragement  from 
the  Canadian  people.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  importance  of  the  part 
played  by  the  Grand  Trunk  in  the  development  of  this  country  when  it  was 
practically  the  only  trunk  line  carrying  goods  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard  through 


W.  P.  HINTON, 

Vice-President  and  General  Manager, 

Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Ry., 

Winnipeg,  Manitoba. 


14 


Canada.  During  its  sixty-six  years  of  history  it  has  continued  adding  to  its 
system,  and  to-day  when  the  railroads  of  the  entire  continent  are  laboring 
under  immense  handicaps,  congestion,  lack  of  fuel  and  labor,  expense  and 
scarcity  of  materials,  the  "old  Grand  Trunk"  is  holding  up  its  end,  and  winning 
praise  for  its  success.  That  recognition,  so  far  as  the  people  of  Canada  are 
concerned,  does  not  seem  to  be  commensurate  with  the  deserts  of  the  company. 

"The  Grand  Trunk  exercises  an  influence  in  Eastern  Canada  more  exten- 
sive than  is  generally  realized.  The  present  system  includes  no  less  than  125 
companies  which  were  originally  separate  in  legal  identity.  It  boasts  a  double 
tracked  line  practically  all  the  way  from  Montreal  to  Chicago.  It  has  been 
responsible  for  some  of  the  greatest  public  structures  in  the  Dominion,  the 
Victoria  Bridge,  the  Sarnia  Tunnel  and  others.  For  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury it  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  growth  and  business  development 
of  Canada,  doing  its  part  without  ostentation,  but  none  the  less  effectively. 
Those  who  invested  their  money  in  the  enterprise  have  had  to  be  content  with 
meagre  returns  financially,  and  a  large  consciousness  of  public  service,  if  that 
was  of  comfort  to  them. 

"It  is  well  that  the  Canadian  people  should  not  forget  the  factors  that 
have  helped  them  along  towards  nationhood.  The  sixty-sixth  anniversary 
of  the  Grand  Trunk  should  be  an  occasion  for  a  little  thought  as  to  the  deserts 
of  that  fine  old  railroad  system,  an  honorable  patriotic  corporation  that  has 
been  the  victim  of  one-half  the  railway  legislation  not  only  of  the  Federal 
House  but  of  most  of  the  Provinces." 


Grand  Trunk  Standard  Passenger  Train  1918 


15 


WILLIAM  H.  BIGGAR 

Vice-President  and  General  Counsel  of  G.T.R.  and  G.T.P.   Railways 


Some  Recollections  and  An  Appreciation 

DURING  that  turbulent  period 
in  Britain's  history  when 
Sir  Francis  Drake's  buccan- 
eering exploits  had  Spain  by  the 
ears  and  intrepid  Champlain  was 
spying  out  the  boundaries  of  Bay 
of  Quinte,  there  flourished  under 
the  checkered  reign  of  the  first 
James  in  bonny  Scotland,  Herbert 
Biggar,  and  it  is  a  coincidence 
that  centuries  after  his  descendents 
settled  on  the  rim  of  the  bay  where 
the  great  explorer  had  camped.  This 
Scottish  gentleman  was  Laird  of  Bar- 
bine  and  Nethergloly  and  espoused 
Janet  Maxwell,  Balterson,  in  the 
Parish  of  Holyrood,  who  survived, 
dying  in  1689,  and  their  children 
were  the  ancestors  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

William  Hodgins  Biggar,  called  to 
the  Bar  in  1880,  twice  Mayor  of 
Belleville,  and  in  1890  elected  M.P.P. 
for  West  Hastings,  Ontario,  now 
director  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific 
Railway,  and  vice-president  and  Gen- 
eral Counsel  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railway,  was  born  in  September, 
1852,  at  the  Carrying  Place,  an  his- 
toric portage  where  no  doubt,  Samuel 
de  Champlain  and  his  Indian  allies 
carried  from  Quinte  Bay  to  Lake 
Ontario  their  supplies  and  canoes. 

Late  in  the  autumn,  two  thirds  of 
a  century  ago  when  older  units  of  the  family  were  sailing  westward  with  equip- 
ment and  settlers'  impedimenta  enroute  their  original  location  near  Brantford, 
Canada,  the  voyageurs  were  frozen  in  and  stalled  by  winter's  rigors  and  thus 
fate  or  fortune,  unsolicited,  determined  a  new  world  habitation,  giving  point  to 
the  proverb,  ''There  is  a  destiny  which  shapes  our  ends  rough  hew  them  as  we 
may".  From  here  it  was  that  James  Lyons  Biggar,  general  merchant,  often 
journeyed  in  the  interests  of  East  Northumberland  to  parliament  in  far  off 
Quebec  before  Confederation  and  this  sturdy  trader  of  pioneering  days  was 

16 


W.  H.  BIGGAR, 

Vice-President  and  General  Counsel, 

Grand  Trunk  Railway  System, 

Montreal,  Que. 


wont  to  accompany  goods  shipments  from  tide-water  by  wagon,  coach  and 
vessel  to  their  western  destination. 

"There  is  luck  in  odd  numbers",  said  Rory  O'More  and  as  young  Biggar  was 
but  one  of  nine  lusty  children — all  of  whom  later  attained  individual  prominence 
— he  was  not  featured  as  a  favorite.  Who  can  tell  to  what  influence  his  Celtic 
mother  from  the  city  of  Dublin,  whose  surname  and  temperament  he  inherited, 
attributed  the  success  of  her  son,  perchance  the  good  fairies  or  to  the  "Luck  in 
odd  numbers".  The  acquisition  of  knowledge  was  easy  for  him  because  he  gave 
the  task  his  attention  and  his  inclinations  developed  system  in  study.  His 
preliminary  education  in  the  village  and  at  Trenton  Grammar  School,  culmin- 
ated with  the  gilt  lettered  honor  of  Head  Boy  at  Upper  Canada  College,  Tor- 
onto, and  that  distinction  has  since  been  bestowed  on  one  of  his  four  children, 
Winchester,  on  the  eve  of  his  entry  to  McGill  University  and  gravitation  to  the 
army.  The  mother  of  the  interesting  trio  and  the  curley-headed  dictator  of 
the  family,  was  Miss  Marie  Louise  Ballou  of  New  York. 

A  cardinal  qualification,  noticable  in  the  majority  of  leaders  in  Law  and  Com- 
merce, is  the  ability  to  cast  aside  the  superfluous,  bare  a  proposition  and  prompt- 
ly discern  the  gist  of  the  matter;  this  qualification  Wr.  H.  Biggar  possesses,  com- 
bined with  a  clear,  well  ordered  mind  and  a  splendid  memory  for  facts  and  pre- 
cedent. It  won  him  the  confidence  of  the  late  John  Bell  of  Belleville,  former 
General  Counsel  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  and  his  legal  acumen  soon  became 
exact  and  expanded  by  contact  with  the  ripe  experiences  in  railway  jurispru- 
dence of  his  senior  who  took  the  young  lawyer  into  partnership  giving  him 
charge  of  their  civil  practice.  His  penchant  for  deductions  explains  his  skill  as 
a  billiardist  and  one  time  enthusiastic  lawn  bowler  at  home  and  on  the  greens 
at  Niagara-on-the-lake,  when  he  was  President  of  the  Ontario  Bowling  Associa- 
tion. He  is  decidedly  deliberate  towards  all  appeals  for  his  opinion  on  any 
topic,  does  not  make  snap  decisions  and  would  never  be  caught  in  the  fix  of  the 
man  who  jumped  at  the  conclusion  of  a  departing  ferry  boat  and  fell  into  the 
harbor. 

In  the  capacity  of  General  Counsel  for  G.T.R. — G.T.P.R.,  he  has  dealt  with 
many  weighty  railway  corporation  matters  and  affairs  of  national  import  and 
— no  doubt,  participated  prominently  with  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  his  cabinet 
in  governmental  and  financial  endorsation  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway 
past  and  present. 

Not  long  ago  his  interpretations  of  the  intentions  of  certain  clauses  respecting 
the  Government's  attitude  towards  the  sale  of  bonds  of  the  western  section  of 
the  N.T.R.,  were  sustained  by  the  Privy  Council  at  London  and  that  body's 
vindication  of  Mr.  Biggar's  insight  was  equivalent  to  an  immense  saving  in  favor 
of  the  "G.T.R." 

With  the  strain  of  business  he  intersperses  a  lively  participation  in  golf,  always 
evinces  a  keen  interest  in  good  sport  and  when  a  younger  man  in  Belleville 
owned  and  raced  his  yacht  "lolanthe"  on  Lake  Ontario  and  across  the  bay  be- 
side his  birthplace.  He  was  also  a  bit  of  an  angler  and  could  pink  the  bull's  eye 

17 


I 

at  rifle  ranges.  Many  a  time,  when  a  boy,  have  I  seen  him  galloping  past  in  the 
saddle  accompanied  by  (Justice)  R.  C.  Clute,  the  late  U.  E.  Thompson,  then 
City  Ticket  Agent  of  the  G.T.R.,  Thomas  Ritchie,  T.  S.  Carman,  publisher  of 
the  "Ontario"  and  the  late  Senator  Harry  Corby.  A  gentleman  of  the  old 
school,  Will  Biggar  was  as  prompt  to  perceive  the  charwoman's  curtesy  as  he 
would  be  to  acknowledge  the  gracious  inclination  of  the  city's  first  lady. 

Like  some  men  in  public  life,  he  is  reserved,  almost  shy  of  the  lime  light,  but 
an  interesting  companion  among  his  intimates  and  a  favorite  with  little  children 
and  generally  popular,  so  much  so,  that  he  proved  a  rara  avis  in  local  politics 
when  he  carried  the  Liberal  standard  to  victory  in  "Tory"  West  Hastings  in 
1890  with  the  untrumpeted  aid  of  many  Conservative  friends,  it  has  been  said. 
He  was  always  a  "man's  man"  but  now  gives  the  Mount  Royal  and  other  Clubs 
only  such  a  share  of  his  limited  leisure  as  domesticity  will  permit. 

QUINTE   BAY 

Esconced  in  a  setting  of  green  and  gold, 
She  is  ever  young  to  young  and  old; 
Could  her  waters  speak  as  they  flow  along, 
"Forget  me  not"  would  be  their  song. 


18 


Photograph — Courtesy  I.  Wilson. 


R 


EPRODUCTION  of  an  early  type  of  steam  locomotive  used  by  the  Great 
Western  Railway  of  Canada  and  photographed  on  the  area  then  known 
''Kent's  Paradise",  below  Dundurn  Park,  Hamilton,  Ont.,  in  1864. 


as 


This  locomotive  was  the  first  mogul  built  in  Hamilton  shops. 

The  occasion  was  the  visit  to  Canada  of  Sir  Thomas  Dakin,  English  Chair- 
man of  the  Great  Western  Railway,  whose  name  appears  on  the  engine.  A  key 
to  the  interesting  headquarters  group  beside  it  is  given  below  and  some  of  the 
gentlemen  in  the  picture  still  survive. 


Top    row    reading    from    headlight    to 
tender — 

W.  A.  ROBINSON 

GEO.  FORSYTH 

WM.  MCMILLAN 

SAMUEL  SHARP 

JOHN  ROBERTSON.  .  .  . 

WILLIAM  PAINE 

DICK  FURNESS 

AARON  PENNY.  . 


Ass't.  Mch'l.  Sup't. 
.Gen.  Foreman  Shops 
.Fuel  Purc'g.  Agent 
.  Mechanical  Sup't. 
.Locomotive  Eng'eer. 
.  Loco.  Fireman 
.Conductor 
.  Mess'r.  official  car 


Lower  row,  reading  left  to  right — 

GEO.  L.  REID Civil  Engineer 

WM.  WALLACE Traffic  Agent 


G.  HARRY  HOWARD. 

WILLIAM  ORR 

GEO.  B.  SPRIGGS.  . .  . 

JAMES  HOWARD 

THOMAS  SWINYARD.  . 
BRACKSTONE  BAKER. 

THOMAS  BELL 

JOHN  HALL 

JOHN  WEATHERSTON. 

JOHN  A.  WARD 

PETER  NEILSON.  .  .  . 
WILLIAM  WILSON  . .  . 
JAMES  FAWCETT.  .  .  . 


.  Booking  Agent 
.  Dist.  Freight  Agent 
.Through  Fr't  Agt. 
.Gen.  Purch'g.  Agent 
.  General  Manager 
.English  Secretary 
.  Treasurer. 
.  ForemanRun'g.Dep. 
.Track  Superin'dent. 
.  Mech.  Accountant 
.  Station  Agent 
.Track  Foreman 
.Call  Boy 


19 


Turning  the  first  sod,  Toronto,  Canada,  1879,  Toronto  and  Nipissing  Railway 

Photograph  courtesy  of  Gooderham  Estate. 

THE  Toronto  &  Nipissing  Railway,  traversing  the  territory  between  Tor- 
onto, Ont.,  and  Coboconk,  now  a  "G.T.R."  branch  serving  Markham, 
Stouffville    and    Blackwater,    was    inaugurated    in    1869    and   built  by 
Chief  Engineer  Edmund  Wragge  for  the  promoters. 

The  line  was  opened  to  Uxbridge,  September  14th,  1871,  amid  great  rejoic- 
ing and  enthusiasm  and  an  oil  painting  from  the  brush  of  B.  Armstrong,  com- 
memorating the  scene,  with  the  elaborate  decorations  of  that  thriving  agricul- 
tural centre,  was  presented  by  the  President,  the  late  John  Shedden,  to  William 
Gooderham,  Junior,  Vice- President  and  Managing  Director  of  the  Toronto  & 
Nipissing  Railway  Company. 

The  personnel  of  the  prominent  men  of  a  past  generation  who  were  present 
at  the  turning  of  the  first  sod  in  1869  at  Toronto,  as  they  appear  in  the  accom- 
panying photograph,  is  as  follows: — 

Reading  from  left  to  right — 

EDMUND  WRAGGE Chief  Engineer. 

J.  C.  FITCH Merchant. 

GEORGE  LAIDLAW General  Merchant. 

JOSEPH  GOULD.  . Merchant  and  Farmer. 

HON.  JOHN  BEVERLEV  ROBINSON.  .  .Former  Solicitor-General,  Legislative  Council,  Province 

of  Canada 

ROBERT  ELLIOTT Merchant. 

HON.  JOHN  SANDFIELD  MACDONALD. Premier  of  Ontario. 

JAMES  E.  SMITH Merchant. 

JOHN  LEYS Barrister. 

HON.  GEO.  W.  ALLAN Senator  before  Confederation. 

S.  B.  HARMAN Barrister,  Mayor  of  Toronto. 

W.  McMASTER Merchant. 

R.  BRETHOUR Farmer. 

JAMES  GRAHAM Secretary  of  T.  &  N.  Railway. 

20 


AN  OLD  CAMPAIGNERS  CAREER 


HOW  many  amongst  you  wide-a-wake 
and  well-informed  commercial  men  and 
transportation  people,  who  read  these 
lines,  can  explain  where  was  and  what  be- 
came of  the  Erie  &  Niagara  Railway,  Canada. 
A  gentleman  born  in  1833  at  Lungar,  Ireland, 
not  a  great  distance  from  Ballykilbeg, 
known  as  John  Quirk,  Esq.,  Wingham,  Ont., 
would,  if  interrogated,  inform  you  that  the 
railroad  referred  to  originated  at  Lake  Erie's 
shore  at  Fort  Erie,  Ont.,  and  terminated  at 
historical  old  Niagara-on-the-Lake,  where 
Lake  Ontario's  blue  waters  lave  the  sloping 
shore. 

The  nucleus  of  that  highway — now 
a  "Michigan  Central"  branch  line  serv- 
ing the  fruit  belt — was  surveyed  and  laid 
with  wooden  rails  by  Gilbert  McMicken  be- 
tween 1835—1841  and  cost  19,000  pounds. 
It's  motive  power  was  an  old  grey  horse  and 
traffic  crossing  from  England  in  ships  via 
Montreal,  around  and  over  the  different 
rapids  and  river  to  Toronto,  was  transported 
by  Mr.  McMicken  and  his  dapple  equine 
engine  the  nine  miles  from  Queenstown,  a 
grain  depot  on  the  Lake  Ontario  level,  to 
Chippawa,  beside  Lake  Erie,  where  it  was  again  entrusted  to  vessels  bound  to 
the  rim  of  civilization  then  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  The  passenger  fare  from 
Queenstown  to  Chippawa  was  2s-6d.  Gilbert  McMicken  was  a  patriarch  in 
the  forwarding  business,  he  also  built  the  first  suspension  bridge  at  Queenstown 
where  a  horse  ferry  plied  and  there,  in  1846,  his  heir  "Ham."  G.  McMicken, 
later  European  Traffic  Agent  of  Great  Northern  Railway,  London,  England, 
set  foot  on  terra  firma.  Permit  me  to  add  here,  that  the  latter's  son,  E.  G. 
McMicken,  is  General  Passenger  Agent,  Pacific  Steamships  Company,  San 
Francisco. 

Mr.  Quirk  would  explain  also,  that  he  first  started  railroading  on  that  line 
as  baggageman  in  1867,  and  in  three  months'  time  accepted  a  conductorship  of 
a  regular  train  running  between  these  points.  In  the  absence  of  the  present 
Buffalo-Bridgeburg  international  steam  highway,  built  in  1873-74  by  G.T.R. 
and  G.W.R.,  jointly,  United  States  traffic  crossed  from  the  foot  of  Main  Street, 
Buffalo,  by  boats  which  old  timers  will  remember  as  'Florence",  "Grace  Dor- 
mer" and  "Ivanhoe".  From  Niagara-on-the-Lake  passengers  made  the  trip 
to  Toronto  in  the  "Rothsay  Castle",  "City  of  Toronto"  &c.,  &c.,  forerunners  of 
the  splendid  craft  which  now  transport  their  children  and  grandchildren  on 


JOHN  QUIRK 

Wingham's  Veteran  Conductor, 
Retired 


21 


business  or  pleasure  bent.  William  A.  Thompson  secured  the  first  charter  for 
Erie  &  Niagara  Railway  and  the  Great  Western  Railway  surrendered  their  lease 
of  it  in  1870.  This  road  underwent  changes  in  fortune,  emerging  as  a  link  in 
the  Canada  Southern  Railway  but  to-day  survives  under  the  domination  of 
Michigan  Central  Railway. 

From  this  embryo  period  imagine  the  perspective  offered  the  retentive  and 
vigorous  memory  of  an  eighty-four  year  young  veteran  like  genial  John.  He  has 
seen  a  lot  of  Ontario  in  the  making  and  a  host  of  travelers  and  transients  have  seen 
him  in  Great  Western  and  Grand  Trunk  trains.  It  has  been  declared  that  the  trav- 
elling man  of  other  days,  with  fourteen  years'  experience  on  the  rail — devoted 
seven  years  to  his  business  and  other  seven  to  waiting  for  trains  at  Harrisburg. 
From  this  staid  burg  Mr.  Quirk  watched  the  Wellington,  Grey  &  Bruce  Ry. 
extend  northward  while  he  officiated  as  conductor  over  each  section  when  laid 
down.  Elora  and  Fergus  were  reached  in  July,  1870,  Palmerston,  1871,  and 
Southampton  in  1873.  They  considered  themselves  fortunate  if  the  trains  did 
not  leave  the  tracks  more  than  three  times  a  week  as  the  new  portion  was  used 
without  delay  and  formality  as  a  means  of  accomplishing  a  further  leg  of  the 
journey.  Prior  to  that  time  the  tedious  and  lumbering  stage  coach  was  the 
only  long  distance  substitute  for  shank's  mare  in  reaching  a  hundred  towns  and 
villages  which  the  Grand  Trunk  serves  to-day,  thus  aiding  a  battalion  of  drum- 
mers in  the  vital  matter  of  earning  a  living.  John  Quirk  was  long  a  respected 
citizen  of  Kincardine  and  covered  the  run  from  there  to  Brantford  and  Hamil- 
ton for  twenty  years.  He  punched  the  tickets  of  thousands  of  travelers  using 


RAIL  COURTESY 

Guard:     "Now  then,  Missis,  are  you  first-class?" 
Passenger:     "Purty  middlin'  thank  ye.      How's  yourself?" 

22 


the  London,  Huron  £  Bruce  R'y,  who  remember  his  brusque  but  cheerful 
manner  and  woe  betide  the  luckless  bride  and  bridegroom  who  happened  to 
entrust  themselves  to  his  care  when  making  the  initial  trip  in  double  harness. 
He  never  did  possess  a  voice  as  soft  as  a  sighing  zephyr  and  he  was  ever  an  in- 
corrigible tease. 

Our  subject  was  the  contemporary  of  such  men  as  W.  R.  Callaway,  widely 
known  General  Passenger  Agent,  Soo  Line,  Minneapolis,  when  he  was  agent  at 
Paisley  "in  them  days",  of  Adam  Brown,  Hamilton's  postmaster,  after  whom 
a  "Great  Western"  locomotive  was  named,  W.  K.  Muir,  W.  J.  Spicer,  John 
Labatt  and  scores  of  others. 

He  was  in  his  prime  when  a  dozen  United  States  railways  competed  vigor- 
ously for  the  traffic  moving  via  Chicago  and  St.  Paul  during  Manitoba's  first 
boom  before  the  C.P.R.'s  entry  into  Winnipeg  in  1885. 

Mr.  Quirk  voluntarily  resigned  from  G.T.R.  service  in  1905,  enjoying  the 


MICHIGAN 


23 


respect  and  favor  of  the  Company's  officials  as  well  as  the  friendship  of  the  rank 
and  file.  He  keeps  in  touch  with  the  railway  world,  the  trains  and  former 
associates  by  occasional  jaunts  around  about,  and  he  will  wager  his  bonnet, 
his  best  jack-knife  and  even  his  boots,  any  day,  that  his  watch  regulates  the 
sun's  movements.  He  is  a  collector  of  pictures,  walking  sticks  and  clocks,  and 
must  be  a  "freetrader"  for  at  one  time  he  was  notorious  as  a  bargainer  and 
"unsight  and  unseen"  artist. 

If  he  likes  you  he  will  procure  anything  one  desires  from  a  dozen  fresh  eggs, 
a  Latin  recipe  for  rheumatic  gout  to  a  flagon  of  nut  brown  ale,  and  "Here's  the 
old  spite  to  you  all". 

The  history  of  the  Emerald  Isle  is  in  his  book-case,  her  map  is  on  his  desk, 
and  the  Irishman's  ready  answer  still  springs  quick  from  the  tongue  of  this 
lively,  eighty-four  year  old  colt,  ex-conductor  John  Quirk. 


THE  LUCK  OF  A  LIGHT-HEARTED  "  LANDLUBBER 


Avast,    my   hearties,    port   your   helm.     The   sun   is 
over  the  yard-arm. 

24 


C.  &  N.W.R.  Conductor 
Cornelius  O'Konor,  from  Oc- 
onomawoc,  a  dry  land  pilot, 
visited  under  pressure,  a 
Chicago  departmental  store 
recently  with  his  wife.  In 
her  dauntless  quest  for  the 
elusive  bargain  she  led  him 
here  and  marched  him  there: 
into  the  basement  and  up  the 
stairs  until  fatigue  made  him 
hanker  for  home.  Refusing 
her  coaxing  to  make  one  last 
trip  to  the  roof  before  the 
store  closed,  O'Konor  drop- 
ped on  a  near-by  chair  while 
his  wife  made  the  ascent  for 
a  little  "burnt  onion"  dream 
of  a  hat. 

Her  spouse  relaxed,  tilted 
back  his  chair,  cupped  his 
"Christie"  on  his  knees  and 
unexpectedly  slept  the  sleep 
of  the  just  conductors.  When 
Madam  O'K  —  returned  in 
the  wake  of  a  stream  of  char- 
itable departing  shoppers  and 
awakened  her  lord,  she  found 
in  his  hat  $3.49.  Now  he 
wants  her  to  spend  their 
vacation  there. 

SATURDAY  NlGHT 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE  SWINGING 
LANTERN 


OWE  are  merry  men  from  Mars, 
An  active  squad  of  light  hussars, 
Schooled  in  tact  and  the  three  big  R's 
And  how  to  steer  by  moon  and  stars. 
Some  think  we  haunt  the  gay  bazaars, 
And  likewise  smoke  long  black  cigars, 
But  in  our  brood  no  Lochinvars 
Toast  yonder  moon  and  strum  guitars. 
Our  task  is  a  life  of  jolts  and  jars 
And  each  one  bears  his  grist  of  scars — 
The  brand  of  couplings,  beams  and  bars. 
Knights  of  the  punch — our  home  the  cars, 
We  know  the  brig  from  the  keel  to  spars, 
And  there  we  reign  like  blooming  Czars. 
Pilots,  moguls,  airship  tars, 
We  guide  you  safely  to  planet  Mars 
O'er  the  trail  of  the  swinging  lanterns. 


"GRAND  TRUNK"  CONDUCTORS 

DAVID  J    DINAN;  HUG  i  O'DONNELL; 

ALEXANDER  MU:R;  Ai  L^N  EBY; 

WILLIAM  FROST;  J.-.ME.S  GUTHRIE 

WELI.AND  STRONG 


THE  CREDIT  VALLEY  RAILWAY 


Toronto  to  St.  Thomas  via  Woodstock 
Inauguration  of  Toronto-Milton  sections,  September  19th,  1879 

The  Marquis  of  Lome  graced  the  ceremonies  with  his  presence  and  traveled  from 
Toronto  to  Milton  and  return  by  special  train. 

LORD  Lome  can  be  re- 
cognized standing  in 
the  centre  of  the 
official  group  and  the 
party  about  him  include 
George  Laidlaw,  Toronto, 
promoter  and  President  of 
the  line,  John  C.  Bailey, 
Toronto,  an  outstanding  fig- 
ure at  the  time,  who  mapped 
the  route  of  a  dozen  Can- 
adian railways  and  made  the 
survey  —  " Bailey  Route" 
of  the  T.  &  N.O.R.  He  was 
the  engineer  of  the  Credit 
Valley  Railway  and  Harry 
Crewe,  Toronto,  was  his 
chief  assistant.  To  the  right 
can  be  discerned  the  late 
James  Ross,  a  young  Scotch 
surveyor  and  engineer  from 
Kingston,  New  York,  in 
charge  of  construction,  who 
afterwards  became  the  Mon- 
treal millionaire. 

Among  others  in  this  photo- 
graph  are — Honorable   Geo. 
W.    Allan,    Senator,    Honor- 
able John  McMurrich,  M.L. 
C.,  Toronto,  James  Beatty, 
K.C.,     Mayor    of    Toronto, 
Ross  McKenzie,  accountant 
with  the  Credit  Valley  Rail- 
way, who  probably  was  Canada's  most  famous    lacrosse    player,    and    Wm. 
Taylor,  secretary  for  James  Ross. 


26 


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27 


Courtesy  Hamilton  Spectator. 

THE  CRUSADE 

OF 
UNITED  STATES  RAILWAY  INTERESTS  IN  CANADA 

JOHN  Bull's  eldest  daughter,  Canada  —  recently  eulogized  as  his  fairest  by 
the  Honorable  William  H.  Taft — is  no  laggard  in  recognizing  opportunity  as 
it  ebbs  and  flows  in  the  great,  scientific  game  of  trade.  Like  our  wide-awake 
neighbor  to  the  south,  she  inherits  from  commercial  and  speculative  England 
the  bartering  instinct,  and  is  willing  enough  to  emulate,  in  a  modified  way, 
cousin  Columbia's  obeisances  to  the  goddess  of  commerce.  The  goddess,  afore- 
said, has  been  an  active  dame  and  most  aggressive  throughout  North  America 
during  the  past  half  century.  To  further  her  aims,  enthusiastic  disciples  have 
achieved  such  marvellous  feats,  especially  in  railroad  construction  and  trans- 
portation methods,  during  the  period  mentioned  that  comparisons,  invidious 
or  otherwise,  are  well-nigh  compulsory. 

The  prairie  schooner  has  made  a  squeaky  exit  from  the  drama  of  locomo- 
tion into  museums  and  the  tortuous,  blazed  trails  of  the  gold  seekers  of  '49, 
minus  kinks  and  humps,  are  now  the  routes  of  many  lines  with  trackage  con- 
tributing to  an  aggregate  of  256,547  miles  of  railway  which  2105  roads  have 
under  operation  to-day  in  United  States  alone.  In  1860  the  Union  possessed 
only  30,626  miles  of  steel. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  fruits  of  opportunity  in  the  middle  and  golden  west 
appeared  to  the  denizens  east  of  the  "Missouri "to  ripen  and  require  plucking 
all  at  once,  and  the  termination  of  the  Civil  War  signalled  the  inauguration 
of  extravagant  railroad  ventures.  Ambition  fired  the  mind  of  the  restless 
native  and  that  big,  swelling,  polyglot  immigration  pouring  into  the  "Land  of 
Liberty,"  needed  space  and  breezy  fumigation.  Afterwards,  they  had  to  be 
fed  and  equipped,  which,  pursuant  to  the  laws  of  demand  and  supply,  mater- 
ially increased  consumption.  Responding  to  the  goads  of  progress,  the  rail- 
roads extended,  paralled  and  criss-crossed  the  "other  fellow"  in  the  dignified 

28 


scramble  for  a  slice  of  the  melon  of  prosperity.  The  slogan  was  and  has  ever 
been,  "More  Passengers,"  "Increased  Tonnage":  import,  export,  interline  and 
local  business  all  comprised  grist  for  the  mills.  About  the  time  mercantile 
houses  were  becoming  inoculated  with  the  "commercial  traveller"  idea,  a  small 
squad  of  travelling  railroad  representatives,  in  open  formation,  were  training 
observing  optics  on  prospective  traffic.  In  this,  the  eastern  group  of  railroads 
were  slightly  in  advance  of  their  newer,  western  connections. 

As  far  back  as  1868  New  York  and  New  England  State  railways — the  nuclei 
of  gigantic  present  day  systems — grew  interested  in  international  trade  and 
thrust  their  tentacles  across  that  imaginary  line  of  demarkation  bisecting  the 
great  lakes,  into  Ontario  and  Quebec.  Mr.  E.  L.  Slaughter  entered  Canada 
forty-eight  years  ago  as  representative  of  the  "Erie"  and  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  foreign  line  travelling  agent  to  invade  British  domains  on  such  a  mis- 
sion. Some  Canadian  merchants  no  doubt,  remember  this  Southern  gentleman 
who  occupied  an  office  at  the  corner  of  Scott  and  Wellington  Streets,  Toronto. 
John  Strachan,  genial  and  popular,  followed  him  and  for  many  years  graced 
the  position,  with  Mr.  M.  McGregor,  inscrutable  and  keen,  as  right  bower. 
S.  J.  Sharp  was  also  an  active  agent  of  that  system  in  Ontario.  Those  were 
the  days  of  the  "Merchant's  Dispatch,"  1870,  the  days  when  John  Barr  in  the 
early  eighties  trod  the  boards  boosting  the  "Blue  Line,"  and  his  understudies, 
A.  F.  Webster,  Bob  Moodie,  Charles  Holmes  and  F.  F.  Backus,  sallied  forth 
from  the  corner  of  Church  and  Colborne  Streets,  originally  laboring  in  the  same 
cause.  Afterwards,  T.  J.  Craft,  and  subsequently  S.  Hyndman,  made  pre- 
datory incursions  from  Detroit  for  the  "Blue  Line."  Mr.  Craft  was  once  agent 
at  Gait,  Ont.,  and  an  organ,  the  product  of  his  skill,  is,  I  believe,  in  good  order 
to-day  in  a  church  in  that  Scottish  burg.  The  distinctive  term  "dispatch"  I 
mention,  was  applied  to  the  earliest  systematized  methods,  operative  within 
a  railway  organization,  for  tracing  perishable  or  timed  freight  and  transporting 
it  via  most  direct  routes  in  cars  of  a  uniform  dimension,  color,  etc.  Ere  long, 
"Great  Eastern"  and  "National  Dispatch"  sprang  into  existence.  Hot  on 
their  heels  came  the  "Hoosac  Tunnel  Route"  and  "West  Shore"  bidding  for 
favorable  consideration  through  the  medium  of  indefatigable  Joseph  Hickson. 

Not  until  1901  did  W.  A.  Wilson,  a  graduate  of  that  school,  and  formerly 
with  the  "Fitchburg,"  assume  control  of  the  "N.Y.C."  merged  freight  interests. 
Louis  Drago  and  Frank  C.  Foy  supervised  passenger  affairs  for  the  consoli- 
dated lines. 

At  that  period  there  was  more  talk  in  Canada  of  reciprocity  with  United 
States  than  there  may  be  again.  Uncle  Sam's  politicians  were  wont  to  shun 
the  subject,  but  the  interchange  of  traffic  grew  apace.  Emboldened  by  their 
competitors'  success,  the  "Lackawanna  Road"  sent  an  emissary  into  Ontario 
and  they  "have  stuck,"  George  Bazzard  campaigning  for  years  for  that  interest 
until  age  caused  him  to  make  place  for  A.  Leadley,  now  at  the  helm.  1884  saw 
the  advent  of  the  "Lehigh  Valley"  and  Duncan  Cooper.  Robert  Lewis,  then 
in  his  prime,  was  busy  making  hay,  years  before  their  permanent  office  was 
decided  on.  He  was  a  practical  student  of  the  "Morse"  code  at  Suspension 
Bridge  in  1855  when  the  first  near-modern  structure  spanned  Niagara  River. 

29 


Ten  Hale  and  Hearty  Gentlemen  Linking  the  Past  and  Present.     Each  Stalwart  in  the  upper  row  has  completed 
50  years'  active  service.     Their  companions  are  vigorous  and  capable,  with  splendid  records. 


J.  A.  RICHARDSON, 

Midland  Railway,  Millbrook,  Ont., 

Canadian  Agent, 
Wabash  Railroad  Co. 


F.  J.  GLACKMEYER, 

Ticket  Clerk, 

Great  Western  Railway,  Toronto. 
Sergeant-at-Arms,  Ontario 


RICHARD  TINNING, 

Wing  Shot,  Oarsman,  Vocalist 

Grand  Trunk  Railway, 

All  The  Way. 


N.  WEATHERSTON, 

Grand  Trunk  Railway, 

General  Agent, 
Intercolonial  Railway. 


GEORGE    HAM, 

Newspaper  Man,  Raconteur, 

Diplomat, 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 


H 


R.  L.  NELLES,  Lieut. -Col., 

Buffalo  &  Lake  Huron  Railway, 

Grand  Trunk  Railway, 

Toronto. 


ALFRED  PRICE, 

Credit  Valley  Railway, 

Ass't.  Gen'l.  Manager,  E.L., 

Can.  Pac.  Railway,  Montreal. 


W.    R.   CALLAWAY, 

G.T.R.  and  C.P.R., 

G.P.A.,  Soo  Line,  Minneapolis, 

Noted  Advertiser 


W.  J.  GRANT, 

Midland   Railway, 
Port  Hope  "Mobile  &  Ohio," 
Dis't.  Freight  Agent,  C.P.R., 
I  Hamilton,  Ont. 

WM.  A.  WILSON, 

Grand  Trunk  Railway, 

Gen'l.  Can'n  Freight  Agent, 

New  York  Central  Lines. 


Thirty  years  ago  he  presented  his  card  in  "York"  state  as  representative  of  the 
"Great  Western."  Only  recently  came  the  "Pennsylvania"  with  Don  McKen- 
zie  as  sponsor  and  succeeded  by  L.  J.  Fox  and  Messrs.  Stackpole  Plummer,  and 
Little. 

30 


A  large  percentage  of  the  public  have  enjoyed  or  know  of  the  splendid 
passenger  equipment  and  service  some  of  these  railways,  in  conjunction  with 
Canadian  trunk  lines,  offer  to-day  between  Montreal,  Ottawa,  Toronto, 
Hamilton  and  Atlantic  Seaboard.  No  doubt  the  reader  who  has  attained  the 
age  of  45  years  could  develop  a  comparative  mental  picture  of  his  first  train 
ride,  its  discomforts,  shortcomings  and  quaint  paraphernalia.  The  demands  of 
the  age  and  growth  of  travel  account  for  "the  milk  in  the  cocoanut."  Before 
the  war,  the  average  number  of  trains  crossing  the  line  via  Rouse's  Point,  N.Y., 
was  134  per  month,  and  in  that  time  they  transported  9,627  passengers  south- 
ward. At  Newport,  Vt.,  160  trains  entering  United  States  yield  a  monthly 
patronage  of  6,897  people.  Probably  you  are  curious  to  learn  how  it  is  at 
Niagara  Falls,  N.Y.  This  accessible  and  world-famous  spot,  redolent  with 
much  that  is  historic  and  tragic,  is  the  magnet  which  attracts  or  ushers  into 
the  State  of  New  York  20,000  souls  a  month  and  700  trains  of  all  railroads  are 
pressed  into  service  to  cater  to  the  modern  craze  to  be  "on  the  go."  These 
authentic  figures  do  not  include  pedestrian  traffic. 

Compare  the  tonnage  of  forty  years  ago,  and  the  leisurely  dispatch  it  was 
given,  with  the  daily  carloads  containing  a  multifarious  assortment  of  perish- 
able commodities  and  staples  which  now  make  regular,  scheduled  runs  of  24, 
36,  and  48  hours  between  United  States  points  of  origin,  the  docks  at  Portland, 
Boston  and  New  York  and  distributing  centres  in  Canada.  Twelve  to  fifteen 
hundred  tons  of  import  merchandise  for  Ontario  destinations  per  month,  appor- 
tioned to  each  of  the  half  dozen  competitive  eastern  "U.S."  lines,  is  a  conser- 
vative estimate  of  what  is  handled.  They  bring  in  hardware,  silver  novelties, 
locks  and  clocks  from  Connecticut;  tools,  machinery  and  electrical  supplies 
from  Massachusetts  and  New  York;  cement  and  coal  from  Pennsylvania; 
early  table  delicacies  from  Maryland,  and  off  ocean  vessels,  English  fabrics, 
weaves  from  Scotch  and  Irish  looms,  German  toys,  Parisian  frocks  and  bonnets, 
as  well  as  tons  of  express  matter  and  the  theatrical  accessories  which  accom- 
pany the  thespians,  prestidigitators  and  slap-stick  artists.  One  of  these  eastern 
lines,  with  a  strong  weakness  for  fruit  shipments,  transports  to  the  international 
bridges  during  the  season,  125  carloads  a  month  of  incoming  Cuban  pineapples, 
Costa  Rica  bananas  and  Mediterranean  lemons.  The  local  and  through  east- 
bound  tonnage  secured  by  interested  railways  receives  equal  dispatch,  exceeds 
that  average  and  includes  large  quantities  of  apples,  cheese,  eggs,  flour,  im- 
plements, lumber,  meats  and  poultry  which  probably  approximate  a  combined 
monthly  output  of  1,200  carloads.  It  may  be  news  to  some  of  the  uninitiated 
to  hear  that  1,500  carloads  of  Ontario  grown  turnips  are  shipped  annually  in 
the  autumn  for  consumption  in  the  United  States.  It  is  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, that  the  big  "American"  carriers  hasten  to  augment  their  revenues  by 
coaxing  and  nursing  this  growing  trade. 

In  1875  the  complacent  east  languidly  condescended  to  heed  insistent 
whispers  concerning  Canada's  vast  Northwest.  The  tide  of  travel  was  diverg- 
ing and  began  to  carry  with  it  in  that  direction  prospectors,  homesteaders  and 
adventurous  merchants  bent  on  spying  out  locations  in  the  prairie  El  Dorado. 
Dependent,  of  course,  they  levied  on  the  mills  of  the  east  for  food,  clothing  and 

31 


implements.  About  this  time  Sir  Hugh  Childers,  London,  Eng- 
•••HHp        land,  occupied  the  President's  chair  directing  the  destinies  of 

the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  and  the  contemporary  Canadian 

Pacific    Railway    official    was    (Sir)    William    Van    Home. 

jf^  ;  Lucius    Tuttle,     President    of    Boston    &    Maine    System, 

Hp     jfl  D.  McNicoll,  Vice-President,  and  C.  E.  E.  Ussher,  Passenger 

_^\  ^^H          Traffic  Manager,  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  later  on  in  the  first 

flight  and  noteworthy  examples  of  what  determination   and 
IHAJ  capacity    accomplish,    were    going    through     a     "course    of 

sprouts"  with  Ontario  lines  which  afterwards   lost   identity. 

Robert  Kerr,  former  Passenger  Traffic  Manager  "C.P.R.," 
R  M  MELVILIE  RN  was  G'^-  &  P-A.'"  of  the  Northern  Railway,  and  in  his  office 
General  ^.s^Ticket  situated  at  the  foot  of  Spadina  Avenue,  Toronto,  Tom  Mar- 
Agent,  Toronto  and  shall  and  Henry  Jago  shoved  the  quill.  Mr.  Jago  recently 
M.M^n'"s!s  PekiT':  relinquished  the  duties  of  "G.E.P.A.  West  Shore  Road  at 

New  York.  Henry  Bourlier,  so  long  associated  with  J.  D. 
Hunter  as  western  representatives  of  the  Allan  Line,  was  in  1874  ticket  agent 
of  G.T.R.,  in  the  old  depot,  and  Tommy  Jones  was  City  Ticket  Agent,  Great 
W'estern  Railway.  Shippers  hereabout  will  remember  John  Porteous,  G.F.A., 
G.T.R.,  Montreal,  Arthur  White,  G.F.A.,  Midland  Railway,  Port  Hope,  Ont., 
Jim  "the  penman"  Thompson  of  the  C.P.R.  and  Malcolm  Murdock.  Then  it 
was  that  the  star  of  Geo.  B.  Reeve  and  W.  E.  Davis  began  to  twinkle;  likewise, 
John  W.  Loud.  All  in  modest  positions  at  that  time,  they  were  fitting  them 
selves  for  the  exalted  places  they  afterwards  honorably  filled  in  shaping  the 
policy  of  the  "Grand  Trunk"  and  "Trunk  Pacific"  systems. 

The  majority  of  these  and  other  officials  had  frequent  business  intercourse 
with  the  various  United  States  railway  agents  who  visited  Canada. 

In  the  year  1877  Mr.  A.  H.  Burnham  made  his  initial  bow  in  Ontario 
representing  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway.  This  move  was  signifi- 
cant, indicating  the  expectations  of  western  roads  based  on  the  interest  Man- 
itoba's commercial  future  had  awakened.  In  July,  1878,  the  late  James  M. 
Taylor,  prior  to  that  time  General  Freight  Agent  and  Superintendent,  St. 
Lawrence  &  Ottawa  Railway,  had  the  distinction  of  establishing  at  Toronto 
the  first  permanent  western  line  office  in  Canada.  He  was  appointed  General 
Canadian  Agent  of  the  "St.  Paul  Road."  Unlike  any  competitor,  that  railway 
maintained  an  agency  in  Ontario  without  interruption  for  three  decades. 
Andrew  J.  Taylor  joined  his  father  in  February,  1879,  succeeding  him  several 
years  ago  when  the  former  transferred  to  Pittsburg.  These  gentlemen  have 
ever  been  regarded  as  pioneers  and  charter  members  of  the  foreign  railway 
colony,  highly  respected  by  a  legion  of  friends.  James  M.  Taylor,  a  man  of 
sterling  personal  characteristics  and  business  acumen,  who  appreciated  and  sus- 
tained a  clever  hand  in  a  quiet  rubber  at  euchre,  chose  for  headquarters  a  suite 
of  rooms  within  a  door  of  the  northeast  corner  of  Front  and  Scott  Streets,  then 
the  hub  of  mercantile  activity  in  Toronto.  A  neighbor  was  Mr.  Richard 
Arnold,  for  a  long  time  City  Passenger  Agent  in  charge  of  the  "G.T.R."  office 
located  on  the  aforesaid  corner.  Mr.  Arnold's  daughters  became  respectively, 

32 


the  wives  of  William  Wainwright  and  James 
Stephenson,  two  notable  figures  of  the  old 
regime.  The  former  died  when  Fourth  Vice- 
President  of  the  "G.  T.  R."  and  his  erstwhile 
confrere,  I  believe,  lived  in  retirement  in  Eng- 
land until  death.  Mr.  Arnold  numbered  in 
his  staff  the  late  well-known  "Phil."  Slatter;  a 
junior  assistant  was  Mr.  C.  E.  McPherson, 
now  A.P.T.M.,  C.P.R.,  at  Winnipeg,  who  35 
years  ago  left  "G.T.R."  ranks  to  travel  in  New 
England  for  the  "Rock  Island  Road"  and  J.  B. 
Tinning.  C.  W.  Graves  imbibed  from  the  same 
seasoned  chief  preliminary  hints  on  how  to 
handle  the  dear  public  and  look  out  for  the  JOHN  B  TlNNING 

elusive  traveller  who  was  not  above  licking  into          T.P.A.,  C.P.R..  formerly  with  G.T.R. 
illegibility  the  date  on  expired  tickets.  and  R-  &  °-  N-  Co- 

Messrs.  V.  M.  Came,  W.  Barnes  and  Sam.  Beatty  soon  followed  Mr.  Burn- 
ham  of  the  St.  Paul  Road  to  further  the  interests  of  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern 
Railway,  but  were  transferred  before  many  moons  had  silvered  the  landscape. 
The  two  Jacks,  "Morley"  and  "Winnett"  swung  into  line  in  1879  and  did  good 
work  in  both  departments  for  the  "C.  &  N.W.R.,"  opening  an  office  in  Toronto 
in  the  old  Baldwin  Building,  I  understand,  in  1880. 

John  Morley  long  ago  forsook  the  excitement  of  the  road.  He  died  at 
Winnipeg  during  the  summer  of  1908,  and  interment  occurred  at  Toronto, 
where  his  family  is  well  known.  The  mantle  of  these  gentlemen  fell  naturally 
on  the  shoulders  of  a  sturdy  Spartan,  Burton  H.  Bennett,  cryptic,  yet  merry, 
who  jumped  into  the  game  with  a  will  and  has  won  an  enviable  reputation  in 
the  dual  position. 

The  "Burlington  Road"  was  right  up  on  the  firing  line,  looked  after  by  a 
gentleman  bearing  the  uncurtailed  and  historic  cognomen,  John  Quincy  Adams 
Bean,  from  "way  down  east."  After  him,  in  order,  appeared  Messrs.  Badgeley, 
Simpson  and  John  A.  Yorick.  The  late  Joe  Simpson  was  always  happy  if  his 
road  secured  patronage  in  regular  twos  and  threes.  Nor  every  one  knows  that 
he  was  for  a  few  hours  an  unwilling  guest  of  the  "Fenian"  leader  O'Neil  in  1866, 
and  had  been  with  M.K.  &  T.  and  T.'St.  L.  &  K.C. 

Brilliant,  well-informed,  J.  Francis  Lee  represented  the  "Rock  Island- 
Albert  Lea"  combination,  D.  J.  Peace  sought  freight  for  them  and  Eben  Mac- 
Leod was  located  at  Montreal  somewhat  later  for  "C.R.I.  &  P."  Such  watch- 
ful competitors  as  "Great  Western  Railway,"  featured  by  Messrs.  Ridgedale, 
Noyes,  Storr  and  Baker,  and  "Union  Pacific  Ry."  with  Ira  P.  Griswold  in  the 
van,  M.  C.  Dickson  and  J.  O.  Goodsell  holding  power  later,  before  Geo.  Vaux 
and  J.  J.  Rose  took  up  their  work.  Charles  A.  Florence,  an  "Illinois  Central" 
Agent,  made  Berlin — now  Kitchener — his  headquarters. 

The  "All  Rail"  mediums  then  available  for  transporting  man  and  beast 
destined  California,  the  Dakotas  and  Manitoba  from  Old  Ontario,  were  "Grand 

33 


GEO.  B.  WYLIE 

Traveling   Passenger  Agent 

Illinois  Central  Railroad 


Trunk,"  "Great  Western,"  "Credit  Valley," 
and  "Canada  Southern,"  covering  the  distance 
as  far  as  St.  Thomas  and  Detroit,  thence  via 
"Michigan  Central"  and  Wabash  Railroads  to 
Chicago.  Tom  Cochrane,  R.  W.  Youngs,  Bob 
Middleton,  J.  W.  Kearns  and  G.  C.  Wilson  fol- 
low the  footsteps  of  predecessors  and  patrol 
that  neighborhood  now.  As  travel  increased 
from  a  dozen  or  two  people  to  an  occasional 
weekly  carload,  and  more,  the  number  of 
migratory  railroaders  multiplied.  Oldtimers 
will  recollect  some  of  those  big  hearted,  brainy 
hustlers  including  Sam  Seymour  of  the  "Pen- 
nsylvania," Dave  Cavan,  formerly  of  Stratford, 
John  Laven,  off  the  "Iron  Mountain,"  repre- 
senting "M.C.R.,"  Charles  Ousterhouse,  T.P.A. 
N.Y.C.  Lines,  Geo.  B.  Wyllie  for  "L.S.  &  M.S." 
and  later  in  full  charge  of  "111.  Cent.  Ry."  affairs 
in  Canada,  and  the  late  much  lamented  J.  Nelles 
Bastedo,  who  shipped  from  Barlow  Cumber- 
land's service  several  years  ago  to  travel  for 
"Santa  Fe  System."  Joe  Rattenbury,  who 
twenty-five  to  thirty  years  back  used  to  stow  away  at  his  place  in  Clinton  in  one 
night  as  many  as  18  of  these  railroading  nomads  and  cosmopolitans,  often  repeats 
a  story  the  wiseacres  wi!l  recollect  about  his  brother  "Ike"  and  laconic  "Bass." 
The  many  sided  men  above  enumerated  made  it  their  duty  to  assist  with 
Customs  formalities  at  the  frontier  and  also  assuage  the  fears  of  intending 
passengers  trembling  at  the  prospect  of  meeting  in  Chicago  that  much  heralded 
and  maligned  bugaboo  the  bunco  steerer. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  while  to-day  the  railroad  companies  caution 
and  forbid  passengers  riding  on  the  platforms,  thirty-five  years  ago  the  travel- 
ling public  swarmed  on  that  perilous  projection,  on  the  steps  and  quite  often 
took  possession  of  the  car  roofs  with  a  nonchalance  that  would  make  the  cold 
chills  play  peek-a-boo  up  and  down  your  spine.  How  many  of  the  lads  and 
lassies  in  this  year  of  grace  would  have  the  temerity  to  sally  forth,  for  instance 
to  the  London  Fair,  decorating  the  top  of  a  flat  car  rigged  up  with  benches  for 
the  occasion?  Your  fathers  and  mothers  did  it. 

The  patronage  of  the  farmer  and  his  brawny  sons,  who  had  visions  of  gang 
plows  and  waving  wheat,  was  an  important  desideratum  in  that  era.  Party 
leaders  were  "some  pumpkins"  and  they  puffed  and  spat  over  many  a  fragrant 
cheroot  while  sipping  their  "ponies"  and  "bootlegs"  in  company  of  expectant 
agents. 

Charlie  McP —  -  tells  a  tale  of  an  exodus  of  the  boys  over  the  trail  of  the 
lonesome  pine  to  some  silent  place  near  Coboconk  where  the  villagers  were  to 
meet  them  to  consult.  To  introduce  the  serious  talk  of  tickets,  rates  and 
routes,  some  foreign  line  spokesman  suggested  a  mild  libation  all  hands  round. 

34 


Honorary  Judges,   Clinton   Fat  Stock  Show,   April,    1912 
Two  generations  pictured  beside  the  Rattenbury  House. 

R.  G.  McGRAW,  Soo  Line;  H.  E.  WATKINS,  G.N.R.;  W.  HOOD,  C.N.R.;  F.  A.  NANCEKI- 
VELL,  Soo  Line;  DAVID  FORRESTER,  Gentleman-Farmer;  G.  BARNES,  W.C.R.;  A.  J. 
TAYLOR,  C.M.  &  St.  P.  R. ;  HOST  JOE,  Rattenbury;  J.  J.  ROSE;  ROBERT  REFORD 
Co.,  R.  J.  S.  WEATHERSTON,  G.T.R.;  F.  H.  TERRY,  G.N.R.;  W.  JACKSON,  C.P.R.; 
H.  MACDOUGALL,  G.T.R.;  R.  MIDDLETON,  M.C.R. 

Agreed !  Not  to  be  outdone,  his  neighbor  ordered  again  something  out  of  the 
lamp  for  the  lords  and  laity:  partaken  ad  libitum, in  extenso.  Now  me!  It's 
your  turn,  and  so  the  hours  wore  on,  your  Uncle  Dudley  Hayrick  taking  on 
his  grist  at  minimum  cost,  business  postponed  and  county  council  adjourning 
to  reconsider  the  tax  rate. 

CHARITY  BEGINS  AT  HOME 

As  the  train  slowed  down  at  a  busy  country  station  a  man  excitedly  put 
his  head  through  the  open  coach  window.  "A  woman  in  here  has  fainted," 
he  cried,  "has  anyone  got  any  whiskey?  Quick!"  A  philanthropist  reached 
within  the  recesses  of  his  unmentionables  and  handed  a  bottle  to  the  enquirer 
with  an  18  karat  thirst.  The  latter  frantically  uncorked  the  flask,  put  it  to 
his  lips  and  took  a  noble  pull,  "Ah",  he  sighed,  "that's  better,  it  always  did 
upset  me  to  see  a  woman  faint." 

Presently  the  good  blood  of  Ontario,  and  some  bad  stuff,  was 
rolling  westward  at  the  rate  of  two  and  three  regularly  arranged 
for  trains  of  nine  to  thirteen  loaded  cars  each  week.  The  personal  effects  and 
stock  of  the  settler  went  along  too,  the  owner  ensconced  occasionally  in  a  tourist 
sleeper  jolting  along  at  the  end  of  the  string,  and  eager  railway  companies  took 
turns  in  hauling  the  prize.  Excitement  ran  high.  The  wires  were  kept  hot 

35 


I 

about  special  or  inadequate  equipment,  conflicting  rates  and  alleged  uncon- 
stitutional moves  of  opposing  forces. 

It  was  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  convene  a  meeting  in  hotel  parlor  or 
little  red  schoolhouse  and  there  agents  present  would,  in  turn,  give  the  agri- 
culturist samples  of  terseness  or  spell-binding  eloquence.  Imagine  the  per- 
suasiveness that  was  pitted  against  the  farmer's  cautiousness  or  distrust.  Re- 
call, ye  of  good  memory,  if  you  can,  the  epigrams,  arguments  and  bon  mots 
which  rolled  off  the  ready  tongues  of  a  dozen  or  more  jovial  pilgrims  from 
o'er  the  border;  for  instance,  M.  McNally,  representing  "St.  P.M.  &  M.R."  a 
fowl  fiend  who  could  eat  poultry  five  times  a  day,  Charlie  O'Connor  with  the 
"Northwestern,"  Con.  Sheehy,  that  urbane,  silk  tiled  gentleman  sent  over  by 
the  "Wabash,"  A.  C.  Stonegrave  with  eagle  eye  for  "Central  Vermont"  end 
of  it,  rough  and  ready  Harry  Badgeley  of  "Great  Western,"  Bill  Askin  or  hand- 
some Billy  McLean  of  the  Beatty  Line.  They  talked  corn  until  their  tones 
grew  husky  and  they  were  as  fine  a  coterie  of  unconventional  free  lances  as  ever 
probed  the  intricacies  of  a  railroad  timetable.  To  this  day  the  boys  tell  of  the 
adaptability  of  Harry  Badgeley  of  the"C.G.W.R. ,"howhe  studied  pigology, hob- 
nobbing for  three  days  with  a  colony  of  ruralists  whom  he  landed  high  and  dry 
by  this  artful  manoeuvre  in  spite  of  keen  competition.  That  was  the  halcyon 
era,  the  palmy  days  of  Ed.  Sullivan,  Ed.  Riley,  Ed.  Clancy  and  Ned  Hanlan. 

Frank  E.  Harrison,  who  is  now  agent  of  C.P.R.,  at  Whitby,  Ont.,  will 
remember  all  this  as  he  was  about  this  time  Canadian  Agent  first  for  the  C.B.  & 
Q.R.,  and  afterwards  the  C.St.P.  &  K.C.R. 

On  "special"  party  dates  passengers  were  concentrated  at  junctional  points 
and  afterwards  personally  conducted  to  Detroit,  Chicago  or  St.  Paul.  Mr. 
B.  Travers,  city  ticket  agent  at  Paris,  still,  has  informed  me  that  parties  of  75 
and  100  people  were  occasionally  gathered  there,  and  such  a  pretentious  exodus 
was  known  to  earn  a  serenade  by  the  local  brass  band  at  the  time  of  departure. 
The  sturdy  knights  of  ploughshares  and  other  instruments  of  peace  had  to  be 
and  were  better  mixers  than  the  stall-fed  variety  of  traveller  of  this  day,  and 
the  consciousness  that  theirs  was  a  common  object  made  easy  the  upsetting  of 
social  barriers  to  the  music  of  violin,  mouth-organ  and  Jew's  harp.  The  journey 
always  ensured  incident  and  good-fellowship,  and  perhaps,  some  disappointing 
experiences.  The  records,  considerately  offered  me  for  perusal,  do  not  include 
the  name  of  the  escorting  agent  who,  while  wrapped  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus 
in  a  Chicago  hotel,  suffered  the  loss  of  his  train's  entire  proceeds  by  the  deft 
removal  of  a  panel  in  the  door  on  which  his  coat  was  hanging.  It  was  when 
escorting  a  party  westward  that  Will  Wyley,  with  "M.C.R.,"  suffocated,  and 
M.  Boesmburgh  had  a  very  close  call  in  the  burning  of  the  hotel  "Newhall" 
at  Milwaukee. 

Three  different  gauges,  or  widths  between  rails,  were  accepted  as  standard 
in  different  parts  of  Canada  and  United  States  at  that  time,  and  to  permit 
interchange  of  equipment,  three  rails  were  sometimes  laid.  Just  before  the 
adoption  of  the  standard,  broad  gauge,  4  feet,  8J/2  inches,  became  general  in 
America,  a  good-sized  party  bound  for  the  west  were  delayed  at  Toronto  half 
a  day  awaiting  the  readjustment  of  that  portion  of  the  "Great  Western"  to 

36 


D.  O.  PEASE,  Manager,  Ogilvie  Mills, 
Hamilton,  Ex-District  Passenger^Agent, 
G.T.R.,  also  C.M.  &  St.  P.  R.,  Montreal. 


A.  F.  WEBSTER,  General  S.S.  Ticket  Agent, 
Toronto,  and  former  Canadian  Agent  of 
Blue  Line. 


M.  C.  DICKSON,  Ex-District  Passenger 
Agent,  G.T.R.,  Toronto,  formerly  C.P.A. 
Union  Pacific  Ry.  in  Ontario. 


THOMAS  HENRY,  Chief  of  Commissariat, 
Canada  Steamship  Lines,  formerly  Gen- 
eral Agent,  Northern  Pacific  Railway, 
Montreal. 


E.  ALLEN,  widely  known  Superintendent, 
Canadian  Express  Co.,  Toronto. 


The  Late  WM.  G.  McLEAN,  of  Beatty 
Line  and  C.P.R.,  former  General  Agent, 
G.N.  Railway,  Toronto  and  Montreal. 


JOHN  PAUL,  District  Freight  Agent,  Cana- 
dian Northern  Railway,  Winnipeg  and 
former  agent  M.C.R.,  London,  Ont. 


37 


' 

Hamilton,  Ont.  In  the  forenoon  one  rail  over  the  entire  distance,  39  odd 
miles,  was  moved  in  and  spiked  down  in  its  new  position.  This  must  have 
been  quite  a  feat  35  years  ago  in  the  absence  of  those  simplifying  methods 
practiced  to-day.  John  Weatherston,  father  of  Nicholas  and  Robert  of  the 
same  name,  supervised  the  work. 

Moving  westward  over  designated  routes  from  Chicago,  the  canary- 
colored  coaches  were  pulled  by  locomotives  with  yellow  bellied  boilers,  wheels 
painted  scarlet  and  ponderous  smokestacks — hummers  in  the  old  days — but 
antiques  in  1918.  They  bore  such  names  as  Antelope,  Reindeer,  Thistle,  &c., 
as  well  as  of  prominent  people. 

BOIL  THEM  WHEN  THEY'RE  TOUGH 

Picking  her  way  daintily  through  the  grime  of  the  locomotive  works,  a 
young  woman  visitor  viewed  the  huge  operations  with  visible  awe.  Turning 
to  a  young  man  from  the  office  who  was  shewing  her  through  and  pointing, 
she  asked,  "What  is  that  big  thing  over  there?" 

"That's  a  locomotive  boiler",  said  the  guide. 

She  puckered  her  brows. 

"And  what  do  they  boil  locomotives  for?"  she  enquired. 

"To  make  the  locomotive  tender",  said  the  young  man  from  the  office, 
with  amazing  effrontery. 

YOUNG'S  MAGAZINE 

What  a  shock  it  would  be  to  My  Lady's  complacency  if,  on  her  journey 
now,  she  should  find  it  necessary  to  raise  a  sunshade  in  the  coach  to  protect 
her  raiment  from  the  rain  and  snow  sifting  through  the  chinks  and  rifts  in  the 
car.  This  age  is  not  without  some  blessings,  as  Ben  Fletcher  might  have  ex- 
claimed. We  are  reminded  here  of  a  characteristic  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  who  was 
advance  agent  for  "D.G.H.  &  M."  He  had  been  working  up  business  for  an 
excursion  to  Nebraska,  which  did  not  "pan  out,"  one  solitary  passenger  offer- 
ing his  patronage.  The  selling  agent  wired  him  for  instructions  and  received 
reply  couched  thusly:  "By  the  great  horned  toad  Reginald,  chain  him  to  the 
seat!" 

The  "St.  P.M.  &  M.,"  at  birth  "St.  Paul  &  Pacific,"  later  converted  by 
astute  minds  into  the  "Great  Northern  Railway,"  was  the  railroad  which  gave 
that  big  quartette,  Messrs.  Angus,  Smith,  Hill  and  Stephens,  a  gilt-edged 
monopoly  of  Manitoba  emigration  and,  incidentally,  the  patronage  of  dame 
fortune.  Men  and  chattels  had  only  shank's  mare  as  an  alternative  to  this 
line  northward  from  St.  Paul  as  far  as  Fisher's  Landing,  a  Red  River  port. 
Here,  transfer  was  made  to  the  Kittson  Line  of  steamboats  plying  to  Fort  Garry 
now  Winnipeg,  and  owned  by  Norman  Kittson,  a  colleague  of  J.  J.  Hill  in 
some  early  business  ventures.  In  winter  the  trip  was  made  by  stage  travelling 
part  way  over  thick  ice.  Mr.  Kittson  was  one  of  several  successors  to  Anson 
Northrup,  the  pioneer  navigator  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  River  who  launched 
his  first  craft  there  in  1835. 

The  Great  Northern  Railway,  during  the  time  of  the  Manitoba  boom, 
and  since,  was  championed  in  Canada  by  "live  wires"  such  as  Jack  Huckins, 

38 


resourceful  Ham  McMicken,  who  is  acting  for  the  road  in  Europe  at  present, 
Messrs.  Kinsley,  Graves,  Wurtele,  Watkins,  Hetherington,  Tudor  and  Brooks. 

James  M.  Taylor,  in  charge  of  affairs  for  UC.M.  &  St.  P.R.,"  during  those 
strenuous  days,  pulled  off  the  biggest  coupe  of  the  period  I  attempt  to  sketch, 
in  securing  for  his  line  a  party  which  originated  at  Millbrook,  Ont.,  and  is  said 
to  have  consisted  of  or  influenced  500  people  together  with  55  carloads  of  effects. 
Mr.  A.  Leach,  who  was  ticket  agent  there  then,  capably  fills  that  position  to- 
day. 

The  idea  which  the  ''President's  Agreement"  made  concrete  in  February, 
1900,  was  ridiculed .  twenty  years  before  and  the  system  of  commissions  to 
agents  for  ticket  sales  being  in  vogue,  competition  waxed  lively.  For  obvious 
reasons  the  standards  of  remuneration  did  not  always  remain  stationary;  fancy 
prices  and  fat  drafts  swelled  many  a  bank  balance. 

Although  few  dismissals  and  re-engagements  by  telegraph  were  bulletined, 
the  foreign  railway  man's  berth  never  was  considered  as  sure  as  taxes.  For 
brief  periods  in  those  stirring  times,  the  commission  paid  to  agents  for  each 
ticket  reading  from  a  point  in  Eastern  Canada  to  the  Pacific,  Seaboard  netted 
$11.00  to  $15.00.  Inside  information  about  methods  and  means,  dormant  in 
the  book  shelves  of  many  an  agent's  memory,  would  have  made  interesting 
anecdotes  had  one  gained  the  favor  of  men  like  Tom  Ford,  T.P.A.,  G.T.R., 
W.  J.  Grant,  for  a  time  with  "Mobile  &  Ohio"  in  Canada,  Geo.  W.  Hibbard, 
former  A.G.P.A.,  C.P.R.,  Montreal,  unfortunate  Alex  Drysdale,  who  lost  his 
sight  and  was  pensioned  by  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad,  and  the  erudite 
M.  B.  "Garfield"  Tooker,  the  Beau  Brummel  of  many  a  husting  Heard  you 
ever  of  Mr.  Tooker 's  perceptive  olefactory  membrane?  How  he  accurately  dis- 
tinguished, though  blindfolded,  the  odor  of  a  dozen  different  perfumes  in  J. 
Livingstone's  store  in  Listowel  Then  behold,  the  unkindest  cut  of  all:  some 
mischievous  scamp  thrust  an  uncorked  bottle  of  skunk  oil  beneath  his  nose. 

Another  scout,  robust  and  in  commercial  life  at  Hamilton  to-day,  who 
links  the  past  and  present,  is  D.  O.  Pease  years  ago  with  the  Great  Western 
Railway.  Dan  Pease  is  the  proud  possessor  of  the  long  delayed  Fenian  Raid 
medal,  and  when  William  Edgar  appointed  him  D.P.A.,  G.T.R.,  Montreal,  he 
evinced  during  twelve  years  in  that  capacity,  an  enthusiastic  interest  in  military 
matters  and  movement  of  troops.  Conversant  with  shipping  and  the  French 
language,  shrewd  and  sauve,  he  successively  represented  the  C.M.  &  St.  P.R. 
for  several  years  in  Quebec  in  the  early  days,  and  relates  an  incident  about  a 
ticket  agent  in  Prince  Edward  Island  who  booked  a  party  of  twenty  round 
trips  to  California  and  out  of  the  bountiful  commissions  purchased  for  his  wife 
a  fine  horse,  harness  and  basket  buggy. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  agents,  active  in  transportation  matters  at 
the  present  time,  who  took  part  in  and  recall  the  friendly  but  whirlwind  com- 
petition "American"  lines  indulged  in  to  obtain  the  lion's  share  of  business 
moving  beyond  the  border.  Forty  years  rest  lightly  indeed,  on  them  all  and 
a  baker's  dozen  chosen  at  random  might  well  include  Edward  de  la  Hooke, 
London,  dean  of  the  faculty,  erect,  vigorous  and  immaculate,  who  began  rail- 
roading in  Hamilton  in  1864,  W.  G.  Webster,  a  colt  yet  and  an  inveterate  wag, 

39 


Canadian  Ticket  Agents'  Association 

Representative  group  of  officers  and  members  present  at  Annual  Meeting, 

Buffalo,  October,  1909. 

Pictured  beside  C.  &  N.W.R.  Terminal,  Chicago 


H.  G.  THORLEY,  Ontario  Passenger  Agent,  White  Star  Line,  Toronto;  C.  R.  MORGAN, 
Ticket  Clerk,  C.T.A.,  G.T.R.,  Hamilton,  Overseas;  F.  W.  CHURCHILL,  City  Passenger 
Agent,  C.P.R.,  Collingwood;  A.  PHILIPS,  City  Passenger  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Huntington, 
P.Q.,  now  M.L.A.;  T.  L.  THOMSON,  C.T.A.,  C.  &  P.E.I.R.,  Charlottetown,  P.E.I.; 
DR.  J.  W.  SHAW,  Honorary  Physician,  Clinton,  now  overseas;  WILL  LAHEY,  C.P.A., 
C.P.R.,  Brantford;  W.  WARD,  C.T.A.,  G.T.R.,  Dresden,  Ont.;  H.  J.  MOOREHOUSE, 
C.P.A.,  C.P.R.,  Sault  Ste.  Marie;  H.  M.  BOHREER,  D.P.A.,  "M.  &  O.,"  Chicago; 
ARTHUR  HARE,  C.P.A.  "Wabash,"  Tillsonburg;  M.  McNAMARA,  C.T.A.,  G.T.R.,  Walk- 
erton,  Collector  Customs;  W.  MC!LROY,  C.P.A.,  C.P.R.,  Peterborough;  E.  DELA 
HOOKE,  C.P.A.,  G.T.R.,  London,  Ont.,  Secretary-Treasurer;  J.  P.  HANLEY,  C.P.A., 
G.T.R.,  Kingston,  Vice-President ;  R.  J.  CRAIG,  C.P.A.,  C.P.R.,  Cobourg,  President; 
W.  JACKSON,  C.P.A. ,  C.P.R.,  Clinton;  W.  BUNTON,  C.P.A.,  G.T.R.,  Peterborough; 
C.  E.  MORGAN,  C.P.A.,  G.T.R.,  Hamilton;  R.  L.  MORTIMER,  C.P.A.,  G.T.R.,  Shel- 
burne;  GEO.  B.  WYLLIE,  T.P.A.,  Illinois  Central  Railway,  Buffalo,  N.Y. 

40 


who  resides  in  Chicago,  J.  A.  McKenzie,  Woodstock,  Will  Jackson,  Clinton 
W.  Somerville,  Seaforth,  James  Dore,  Mitchell,  R.  Lauder,  Goderich,  C.  L. 
King,  Kincardine,  John  Towner,  Stratford,  P.  Robertson  and  R.  E.  Waugh, 
Hamilton,  Dick  Shea,  Palmerston,  W.  E.  Rispin,  Chatham,  Dan.  Hayes, 
London,  Geo.  McCallum,  Gait,  a  storehouse  of  ancient  history;  C.  E.  Horning, 
Toronto,  Tom  Evans,  London,  John  Paul,  Dave  Dover  and  Alex.  Calder,  Win- 
nipeg, W.  H.  King,  St.  Thomas,  J.  Quinlan,  Montreal,  W.  H.  Clancy,  now  living 
in  Toronto,  (a  wit  with  an  "Emerald"  flavor),  A.  E.  Lalande,  Montreal,  J.  B. 
Lambkin,  Halifax,  D.  Carruthers,  Quebec,  John  Lyons,  Moncton,  and  J.  M. 
Riddell,  Portland.  The  names  U.  E.  Thompson,  Belleville,  John  Foy,  Tor- 
onto, A.  H.  Taylor,  Ottawa,  C.  E.  Morgan,  Hamilton,  J.  Tierney,  Arnprior, 
W.  Bunton,  Peterborough,  W.  H.  Harper,  Chatham,  Alex.  Notman,  Toronto, 
Joseph  Heffernan,  Guelph,  Louis  Drago,  Niagara  Falls  and  John  Gray  live  in 
the  memory  although  they  have  ceased  their  labors. 

Among  such  as  these  was  and  is  business  and  co-operation  sought  by  that 
original  and  persistent  advertiser,  W.  R.  Callaway,  once  station  master  at 
Walkerton,  now  G.P.A.,  Soo  Line;  S.  H.  Palmer,  C.P.A.,  M.C.R.;  Harry  W. 
Steinhoff,  Geo.  H.  Anthony,  Varnie  Russell,  R.  G.  McCraw  of  W.C.R.  (the 
Soo's  new  arm),  D.  W.  Hatch,  connected  with  A.T.  &  S.F.R.;  C.  Hartigan, 
Rutland  Railway,  and  that  big  four  who  so  well  attended  to  Northern  Pacific 
Railway  affairs,  Messrs.  Walter  E.  Belcher,  W.  G.  Mason,  George  Dew,  Thomas 
Henry,  and  their  collaborators,  Geo.  W.  Hardisty,  Geo.  McCaskey  and  Geo. 
Barnes.  Guided  by  Armand  Lalonde,  the  "B.  &  M."  scored  often.  They 
could  tell  you  of  long  drives  in  good  and  indifferent  weather  into  the  surround- 
ing country  seeking  prospective  passengers  and  good  locations  for  the  half  and 
quarter  sheet  style  of  advertising  so  much  used  then ;  of  hard  and  fast  arrange- 
ments upset  in  a  thrice  accompanied  by  restitution  of  deposits  given  to  clinch 
the  deal  and  of  mysterious  cheques  which  seemed  to  spring  from  nowhere  in 
particular  when  the  management  forbade  their  acceptance.  They  smile  when 
recounting  methods  used  to  test  if  agents  were  sticking  to  tariff.  I  remember 
the  case  of  one  stool  pigeon  who,  after  obtaining  the  favor  of  a  ticket  at  a  rate 
partially  unconfirmed,  selling  it  with  intent  to  a  rival  organization  to  be  utilized 
in  trapping  the  enemy.  He  made  a  required  affidavit  as  to  purchase  price  and 
the  subterfuge,  with  its  charge  of  irregularity  hingeing  thereon,  had  not  been 
operative  an  hour  before  the  resourceful  agent  who  sold  him  the  ticket,  effec- 
tively turned  the  tables  causing  the  spotter's  arrest  on  the  grounds  ''false 
pretences, "and  that  worthy  received  his  liberty  under  suspended  sentence  to- 
gether with  a  reprimand. 

While  these  diversified  events  were  finding  a  niche  in  history,  M.  V. 
McGinnis  and  Major  E.  M.  Peel,  a  lover  of  horseflesh,  were  on  the  war  path 
for  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and  their  contemporary,  W.  T.  Dockrill, 
present  T.P.A.,  C.P.R.,  was  a  "big  issue"  in  another  direction.  A  busy  man 
with  a  portable  railroad  in  his  ucarpet-bag"  ticket  case,  he  created  quite  a 
furore  years  ago  in  the  vicinity  of  Brockville.  From  November,  1883  to  June 
1885  he  traveled  on  the  "C.P.R."  trains  between  that  city,  Ottawa  and  Smiths 
Falls  exchanging  prepaid  orders  and  ticketing  westbound  business.  In  July, 

41 


1885,  the  C.P.R.  was  completed  to  a  point  beyond 
Jackfish  and  from  track-end  there,  the  heroes  of  the 
Battle  of  Batoche  marched  across  the  arm  of  Lake 
Superior  before  the  bridge  linking  up  the  western 
extension  was  erected.  During  the  time  the  different 
contracts  were  completing,  the  builders  released  at 
intervals,  10,000  laborers  and  navvies  in  lots  of 
fifty,  one  hundred  and  two  hundred,  who  traveled 
via  Carleton  Junction  to  Brockville  on  orders  issued 
by  the  agents  appointed  after  each  station  had 
WILLIAM  T.  DOCKRIU.,  been  established  behind  the  scene  of  operations. 
Tcanad1iln  paSc^Luiway!*'  These  exchange  orders  were  seldom  fully  routed  and 
Mr.  Dockrill  thus  controlled  heavy  business  which 

he,  in  competition  with  G.T.R.,  directed  round  the  horn  via  ferry  and  Morris- 
town,  N.Y.,  thence  Utica  &  Black  River  Railway,  an  abbreviated  but  prolific 
"feeder"  to  "Canada  Southern"  through  St.  Thomas  and  "L.S.  &  M.S."  by 
the  way  of  Buffalo. 

In  1881  rumors  of  consolidation  of  existing  railway  systems  in  Ontario 
were  bruited  about  by  those  "in  the  know"  and  the  steady,  westward  extension 
of  the  "C.P.R."  sowed  uneasiness  where  the  interests  via  "Chicago-St.  Paul 
Route"  were  cherished.  August  llth  and  12th,  1882,  witnessed  the  amalga- 
mation of  "Great  Western"  and  "Grand  Trunk."  William  Edgar  then  was 
"G.P.A."  at  Hamilton  and  Mr.  Geo.  T.  Bell,  present  Passenger  Traffic  Man- 
ager, Grand  Trunk  Railway  System,  made  stenographic  hooks  and  crooks  for 
him. 

November  2nd,  1885,  marked  an  epoch  in  the  annals  of  the  prairie  prov- 
inces. Although  previously  used  for  transportation  of  troops,  it  was  the  date 
when  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  equipment  first  rolled  into  Winnipeg  under  a 
schedule.  The  event  was  fraught  with  much  import  to  Manitoba  and  forged 
an  item  of  significance  in  the  history  of  the  Dominion.  The  national  character 
of  Van  Home's  project  and  the  prestige  of  the  sponsors  of  this  great  pioneer, 
western  Canadian  line  attracted  to  it  the  major  portion  of  freight  traffic  which 
had  been  moving  via  other  channels,  and  by  demanding  the  privilege  of  prefer- 
ential passenger  rates,  based  on  newness,  geographical  position  and  inaccessi- 
bility, the  patronage  of  the  "Homeseeker"  was  diverted,  practically  en  masse, 
from  United  States  lines  which  had  enjoyed  the  pickings  unmolested  for  eight 
years.  This  reversal  of  conditions  left  not  even  all  the  "Dakota"  business  to 
the  latter,  and  with  a  single  exception,  the  Chicago-St.  Paul  and  allied  systems, 
one  by  one,  abolished  Canadian  agencies  and  withdrew  their  representatives 
from  active  participation  in  the  chase. 

Then  it  was  that  General  Passenger  Agents  Carpenter,  Charlton,  St.  John, 
Stennett  and  Barnes,  in  the  seats  of  the  mighty  at  Chicago  and  St.  Paul,  felt 
a  temporary  modification  of  interest  in  Canadian  passenger  affairs.  Geo. 
Barnes  afterwards  resigned  from  the  Northern  Pacific  Ry,  entering  commercial 
life  as  a  piano  manufacturer,  and,  I  believe,  made  a  fortune. 

42 


S.  H.  PALMER, 

District  Passenger  Agent,  Mich. 
Cent.  Railway,  St.  Thomas, 
Civil  War  Veteran.  Formerly 
connected  with  "Atlantic  & 
Great  Western,"  "Erie  &  Pitts- 
burg,"  "Canada  Southern." 


These  changes,  however,  did  not  impair  the  busi- 
ness relations  then  budding  between  "U.S."  mer- 
chants and  Canadian  importers,  and  the  railroads 
of  the  neighboring  republic  realized  that  it  behooved 
them  to  look  jealously  after  their  individual  share  of 
lumber,  broom  corn  and  cotton  goods  from  the 
Southwest,  seeds,  citrus  and  deciduous  fruits  from 
California,  tinned  salmon  and  shingles  from  the  North 
Pacific  Coast  and  consignments  of  matting,  silks, 
bamboo,  rice,  etc.,  disembarked  along  Puget  Sound. 
The  man  in  the  street  might  puzzle  over  the 
price  of  his  breakfast  orange  if  he  reflected  that  some 
days  20  carloads  of  this  marmalade  fruit  now  and 
then  gluts  the  local  markets  at  Montreal  and 
Toronto. 

A  certain  percentage  of  such  incoming  cars,  after 
unloading,  are  returned  laden  with  hides  to  Mil- 
waukee's greatest  tannery,  clay,  cordage,  fish,  lumber 

and  sand;  pedigreed  sheep  for  Idaho  and  Oregon  ranchmen,  hair  for  San  Fran- 
cisco plasterers,  gums,  glass,  nuts,  salt,  and  tinplate  from  Atlantic  Coast 
wharves;  also  with  ton  upon  ton  of  coveted  Canadian  woodpulp  which  reappears 
as  the  basis  for  newspaper  headlines. 

Historians  of  railroad  progress  chronicled  continued  extension  until  the 
ramifications  of  the  "G.T.R."  and  subsidiary  properties,  gradually  gridironed 
the  Province  of  Ontario  with  a  network  of  branches,  despite  obstacles,  not  al- 
ways anticipated.  A  most  deplorable  happening,  and  severe  financial  setback, 
was  the  accident  which  occurred  on  February  27th,  1889.  In  the  evening  of 
that  date  "G.T.R."  eastbound  express,  No.  55,  en  route  Hamilton  in  charge 
of  conductor  Dan  Revells,  crashed  through  a  bridge  at  St.  George,  snuffing 
out  the  lives  and  injuring  more  than  two  score  passengers.  Mr.  J.  A.  Richard- 
son, widely  known  as  Canadian  Passenger  Agent,  Wabash  Railroad,  and  a  vet- 
eran business  getter,  had,  under  pressure  on  the  part  of  friends,  left  his  train 
at  London.  The  seat  he  vacated  there  was  taken  by  William  Wemp,  Immi- 
gration Agent  of  "C.M.  &  St.  P.R."  Poor  Wemp  was  numbered  among  the 
killed.  This  proved  to  be  the  worst  Canadian  railroad  disaster  since  March 
12th,  1857,  when  sixty  people  died  in  the  Des  Jardins  Canal  wreck. 

From  1891  to  1898  seven  lean  years  spread  stagnation  and  hard  times 
abroad  in  the  land,  discouraging  operations  of  "U.S."  corporations  in  Canada, 
but  1900  beheld  a  restored  confidence  pulsating  the  arteries  of  trade.  British 
Columbia  felt  the  stimulus,  the  optimistic  Northwest  clamored  for  improved 
transportation  facilities,  while  J.  J.  Hill  surveyed  from  afar  the  possibilities 
in  duplicating  portions,  at  least,  of  "C.P.R."  Later,  his  policy  got  the  wedge's 
thin  end  into  "Kootenai"  and  Vancouver,  which  quickly  resulted  in  heavier 
tonnage  prospects  from  Ontario  and  Quebec  for  his  trains.  Canadian  Northern 
Railway  activity  in  Manitoba  followed  by  the  deal  that  province's  government 
entered  into  with  President  Mellen  of  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  threw  open 

43 


a  previously  restricted  area  giving  United  States  lines  to  the  south  larger  oppor- 
tunities and  scope,  which  compelled  their  attention  once  more. 

The  complexion  of  things  had  undergone  a  change  in  twenty-five  years 
and  the  traffic  the  returning  "American"  railroads  now  seek  and  appreciate 
comprises  not  only  settler's  outfit  and  pressing  needs,  but  everything  from  a 
car  of  seaweed  to  a  circus  train  and  the  variety  runs  the  gamut  of  raw  and  man- 
ufactured products.  Your  westerner  unconsciously  imbibes  large  ideas  with 
the  unpolluted  ozone  of  the  boundless  prairies.  He  courts  sleep  in  a  metal 
bed  from  Ontario,  bathes  in  a  porcelain-lined  tub  and  eats  well.  If  he  has  them, 
he  freely  parts  with  his  ducats  for  carloads  of  biscuits,  butter,  bacon  and  eggs; 
cheese,  flour,  canned  vegetables,  condensed  milk,  syrups,  marmalades  and 
sweets  which  come  from  the  east.  Recently  a  train  of  cars  containing  John 
Barleycorn's  headache  provoker  flaunted  boldly  across  the  horizon  heading 
due  west  to  the  opulent  personage  who  imports  his  pianos  and  autos  in  big 
lots  regularly.  Mark  you,  more  than  200  carloads  of  "Niagara"  grown  grapes, 
peaches  and  mixed  fruit  roll  out  to  the  blooming  prairie  every  season  over 
bridge  and  ferry  and  into  the  tunnel's  insatiable  maw  at  Sarnia. 

The  substantial  growth  of  Winnipeg,  Portage  la  Prairie,  Brandon,  Regina, 
Calgary,  Edmonton  and  Pacific  Coast  cities,  and  the  mushroom  proclivities 
of  many  a  lesser  burg,  has  given  a  marked  impetus  to  the  spirit  of  competition 
in  manufacturing  and  railway  circles.  In  the  face  of  an  exaggerated  propa- 
ganda about  bounding  difficulties,  and  the  like,  and  a  strong  but  diminishing 
pro-Canadian  sentiment,  the  men  behind  the  gun  annually  dispatch  and  receive 
by  way  of  Rouse's  Point,  Suspension  Bridge,  Port  Huron,  The  Sault,  etc., 
merchandise  worth  thousands  of  dollars  which  our  cousins  eagerly  solicit, 
working  for  the  haul  in  conjunction  with  Canadian  railway  lines.  Eight 
hundred  carloads  a  year  would  be,  according  to  some  men's  estimate,  a  modest 
shewing,  but,  after  all,  conditions  considered,  it  is  a  tidy,  "found"  business 
in  and  out  of  Canada  for  an  individual  "U.S."  line  to  secure  or  relinquish.  I 
have  known  a  single  railroad's  catch  in  Ontario  to  exceed,  on  several  occasions, 
three  hundred  carloads  a  month,  95  per  cent,  of  this  tonnage  going  to  Manitoba 
and  British  Columbia  destinations,  the  fresh  fruit  receiving  exceptional  atten- 
tion and  other  commodities  making  scheduled  runs  to  Winnipeg  well  within 
five  days,  and  to  Vancouver  in  twelve  days'  time.  It  is  estimated  that  via  the 
various  avenues  between  the  two  nations,  from  Coast  to  Coast,  two  carloads  of 
freight  a  minute  pass  into  the  republic  to  the  south  as  a  result  of  the  crusade 
of  its  railroad  corporations. 

In  more  than  one  tight  pinch  "U.S."  railways  have  come  to  the  fore, 
furnishing  an  expeditious  alternative  when  shipper  and  consignee  have  been 
stewing  over  congested  yards,  crippled  motive  power,  notorious  scarcity  of  cars, 
strike  and  snow  disadvantages  which  trouble  every  line  sooner  or  later  and 
which  are  not  unknown  to  the  men  piloting  the  Canadian  railway  interests  to 
success. 

Twenty-two  foreign  railroads,  nine  operating  in  the  east  and  central  States, 
and  thirteen  western  companies,  each  maintain  one  to  six  passenger  and  com- 
mercial offices  in  this  country.  Affairs  pertaining  thereto  are  supervised  by 

44 


Canadian  Agents,  Division,  General  and  Travelling  Agents,  Contracting  Repre- 
sentatives, Solicitors,  City  Canvassers  and  Counter  Clerks.  The  combined 
staff  numbers  100  men.  With  few  exceptions,  they  are  natives  of  the  soil; 
familiar  with  local  conditions,  and  are  liberal  dispensers  of  a  good  deal  of  salary, 
rentals,  incidental  expense  monies  and  sunshine.  *In  rounding  up  traffic  the 
tactics  which  obtain  include  direct  solicitation  with  shipper,  consignee  and 
traveller;  the  assiduous  cultivation  of  the  man  who  pays  the  freight  or  buys 
the  tickets,  and  canvass  of  stationary  railway  agents,  whose  judgment  often 
dictates  via  what  junctions  and  lines  unrouted  shipments,  and  passengers  with- 
out pre-arranged  itinerary,  should  be  routed.  Prompt  dispatch  and  trains 
"on  time"  are  cardinal  requisites  in  luring  trade  and  holding  a  continuance  of 
favor.  The  personality  and  perseverence  of  the  foreign  road  agent  has  an 
important  bearing  on  results.  Changeable  climatic  conditions  divert  certain 
commodities  and  influence  the  warm  zone  hunter  from  one  channel  to  another. 
Warehouse  and  track  facilities  play  a  part  in  the  scheme  of  convenience,  and 
that  indefinite  quantity,  sentiment,  colors  calculations,  though  shifty  as  smoke. 
Unsettled  claims  occasionally  rile  the  temper  and  switch  a  lot  of  business  to 
the  lynx-eyed  competitor  who  watches  while  he  works.  Friendly,  but  con- 
tending factions,  lock  horns  for  the  haul  of  a  single  carload.  San  Francisco 
and  Vancouver  agents,  acting  in  concert  with  their  confreres  at  Winnipeg, 
Halifax  or  Hamilton,  keep  the  wires  sizzling.  Perhaps,  some  of  the  ''big  wigs" 
put  a  finger  in  the  pie,  and  to  score  a  point,  resort  to  every  permissable  ruse 
save,  let  us  hope,  that  dishonorable  weapon,  the  bogus  telegram. 

Necessity  has  slowly  convinced  numerous  hesitating  shippers  and  travellers 
that  the  canvass  of  those  United  States  railroads,  looking  to  Canada  for  busi- 
ness, has  more  behind  it  than  a  cloven  hoof;  that  sometimes  an  extra  string 
to  one's  bow  is  a  really  effective  precautionary  measure. 

The  pack  animal,  oxen  and  primitive  implements  of  the  pioneer  who  pierced 
the  wilderness  and  first  scratched  the  surface  of  the  last  west,  have  steadily 
given  place  to  the  steel  ribboned  highway  and  thus,  on  "easy  street"  when 
compared  with  his  progenitor,  the  modern  colonizer  is  linking  the  old  with  the 
new  and  accomplishing,  by  successive  stages,  the  development  of  our  pregnant 
western  heritage. 

Nowadays,  discriminating  tourists,  individually  or  in  parties,  the  banker 
speculator,  merchant  prince  in  his  own  car,  and  commercial  man  having  busi- 
ness in  Europe,  at  the  Pacific  Coast  or  in  Manitoba,  more  and  more  frequently 
requests  that  the  New  York  or  Chicago  gateway  should  figure  in  their  itinerary 
to  permit  enjoyment  of  the  unsurpassed  service  and  scenic  environment  of  those 
routes  which  justly  deserve  the  public's  endorsement. 

Trade  relations  between  United  States  and  Canadian  railroads  systems 
constantly  grow  more  intimate  and  wield  an  unmistakable  influence  in  the 
strengthening  of  those  bonds,  commercial  and  sentimental,  which  make  for  the 
good  of  all  concerned.  This  interchange  broadens  our  knowledge  of  each  other 
and  tends  to  more  completely  harmonize  the  aims  and  aspirations  of  the  two 
nations. 


*Owing  to  exigencies  of  the  war,  and  responding  to  a  law  enforced  by  W.  G.  McAdoo,  Director  General 
of  Railroads,  all  United  States  railway  agencies  have  again  been  withdrawn  from  Canada. 

45 


1.  B.  H.  BENNETT,  General  Agent,  C.  &  N.W.R.,  Toronto,  Ont. 

2.  E.  T.  Boland,  Manager,  Robert  Reford  Co.,  Toronto. 

3.  R.  CREELMAN,  General  Passenger  Agent,  Canadian  Northern  Railway,   Winnipeg,    Man. 

4.  GEO.  COLLINS,  Superintendent,  C.N.R.,  Trenton,  Ont.  Ex-General  Manager,  Central  Ont.  R'y. 

5.  A.  D.  HUFF,  Traffic  Manager,  Canadian  Export  Paper  Co.,  Montreal,  former  D.F.A.,  G.T.R.,  Ottawa 

6.  L.  MACDONAI.D,  Division  Freight  Agent,   Grand  Trunk   Railway,  Toronto,   Ont. 

7.  M.    MCGREGOR,  General  Canadian  Freight  Agent,   Erie  Railroad,  Toronto,   Canada. 

8.  C.   E.   MCPHERSON,  Ass't  Pass'r  Traffic  Manager,  Canadian  Pacific  Rai'way,  Winnipeg,  Man. 

9.  P.  G.  MOONEY,  Assistant  General  Freight  Agent,  Canadian  Northern  Railway,  Toronto. 

10.  H.  P.  SHARPE,  General  Agent,  Dominion  Express  Company,  Toronto. 

11 .  H.  G.  THORLEY,  Passenger  Agent  for  Ontario,  White  Star — Dominion  Line,  Toronto. 


A  WIZARD  WHEN  IN  BUD 

THOMAS  A.  EDISON 


NAPOLEON  Bonaparte  on  isolated 
St.  Helena,  when  rebelliously 
pacing  beside  his  titled  and 
devoted  aide  one  gloomy  day  exclaimed 
"Montholon!  Montholon!  the  world  has 
produced  but  three  great  generals  - 
Alexander  the  Great,  Julius  Caesar 
and  myself."  What  monumental  self 
esteem.  Strategist  and  tacticial  gen- 
ius though  he  proved  himself,  such  plan- 
nings  and  ambition  at  that  period  meant 
the  circumvention  and  bloody  ruin  of  his 
fellow  men  and  their  household  gods. 
Introducing  here  the  Little  Corporal's 
egoism,  the  chaotic  condition  of  the  times 
and  his  campaigns  of  destruction  serve 
to  emphasize  the  wonderfully  construc- 
tive and  scientific  achievements  so  quietly 
evolved  for  man's  benefit  by  the  brain  of 
another  but  unwarlike  genius, Thomas 
Alva  Edison.  Until  Armageddon,  his 
has  been  a  peaceful  era  with  ploughshares 
replacing  swords  and  commerce  expand- 
ing unmolested. 

To  the  Land  of  Evangeline,  his  Nether- 
lands forebears  are  said  to  have  treked  with 
the  United  Empire  Loyalists  in  Revolu- 
tionary times.  A  generation  later  they  left 
Nova  Scotia  and  settled  in  that  part  of 
the  Province  of  Ontario  now  registered 
as  the  County  of  Norfolk.  Near  the 
little  town  of  Vienna,  close  to  Lake  Erie's 
shore,  where  I  believe  relatives  still 
reside,  Thomas  Edison's  elder  brothers 
were  born,  but  not  until  after  1837,  when 
Robert  Edison  transferred  his  family  to 
Milan,  Ohio,  twelve  miles  from  Lake 
Erie,  did  the  lad  Thomas  and  his  sister  first  behold  the  sunshine,  the  birth  of 
the  former  occurring  February,  1847. 

Evidently  his  elementary  education  began  in  that  state,  but  the  fact  that 
his  brother  Pitt  Edison,  managed  a  street  railway  at  Port  Huron,  Michigan, 
probably  accounts  for  the  lad's  presence  thereabouts  and  furnished  an  incentive 
to  his  precocious,  nomadic  predilictions.  Joseph  Draper  from  the  County 
of  Tipperary,  ninety-year-old  veteran,  living  in  Toronto,  recently  deceased, 

47 


JOSEPH  S.  DRAPER, 

The    G  T.R. — G.W.R.    Conductor,   on  whose 

trains    "Tommy"    Edison    was    newsboy    and 

juvenile    publisher.     Conductor    Draper    ran 

through  London  for  44  years. 


who  was  in  1855  a  giant  conductor  with  the  Ontario,  Simcoe  &  Huron  Railroad, 
(Northern  Railway),  told  me  he  remembered  well  how  young  Thomas  Edison 
later  on  sold  newspapers  between  Detroit  and  Port  Huron,  on  his  trains  running 
through  to  Sarnia  and  London.  He  declared  that  the  embryo  merchant  was 
an  active,  well  behaved  and  likeable  stripling  who,  even  during  the  chrysalis 
stage,  nourished  a  specific  bent  by  carrying  with  him  a  portable  telegraph 
key.  During  the  weary  months  of  the  Civil  War,  1862-3,  he  obtained  in  De- 
troit a  printing  press,  old  type,  with  accessories  and  learning  the  contents  of 
war  bulletins,  etc.,  from  station  to  station,  set  up  and  printed  the  news  and 
jokes  which  he  sold  along  the  line  under  the  caption  "Grand  Trunk  Herald." 

Conductor  Draper  said  he  was  often  compelled  to  reprimand  the  boy 
for  tinkering  with  chemicals  and  for  his  untidiness  with  bottles  in  that  corner 
of  the  baggage  car  where  he  kept  his  stock  of  magazines  and  candy.  He 
intimated  also  that  about  this  time  the  young  experimentor  risked  his  life  in 
saving  the  child  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Agent  at  Mount  Clemens, 
Michigan,  from  an  onrushing  train  and  the  grateful  father  taught  him  tele- 
graphing. 

Living  in  an  atmosphere  of  daily  contact  with  keys  and  sounders,  he  took 
to  "jerking  lightning"  like  a  sailor  to  the  sea,  soon  becoming  proficient. 

"This  is  the  song  of  the  wire — 

The  electric  wire : 

The  slender  thread  with  a  soul  of  fire, 
With  the  wings  of  light  that  shall  never  tire, 
With  a  power  and  grandeur  awful  and  dire; 

The  electric  wire." 

In  1867  he  worked  on  the  wire,  covering  the  "night  trick"  at  Stratford, 
Ont.,  and  was  also  at  Park  Hill,  where  the  late  George  B.  Reeve,  of  Grand 
Trunk — Southern  Pacific  prominence,  picked  up  operating.  In  the  autumn 
of  1913  when  the  Stratford,  Ont.,  yard  limits  were  extended  and  reorganized 
to  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  new  "Grand  Trunk"  station,  opened  in 
December  of  that  year,  the  old  eastend  ducat,  (dovecote-do'ecot),  in  which 
young  Edison  is  said  to  have  served  a  part  of  his  apprenticeship  as  an  operator, 
was  torn  down  to  make  way  for  a  modern  signal  tower. 

Every  railroad  telegrapher  is  said  to  experience  once,  sooner  or  later 
during  his  career,  being  temporarily  petrified  with  alarm  on  finding  he  has 
ordered  two  trains  to  pass  "head  on"  or  from  the  rear  on  a  single  track.  Rail- 
road rumor  only  is  my  authority  for  repeating  a  report  that  young  Edison 
figured  in  such  a  collision  on  paper.  The  publication  "Railways  and  Other 
Ways"  quotes  an  interview  given  by  Mr.  Edison  at  London,  Canada,  many 
years  ago  in  which  the  great  inventor  referred  to  his  oversight  when  a  youth 
at  Stratford  in  overlooking  the  delivery  to  conductor  of  a  train  order  the 
result  of  which  permitted  two  trains  to  approach  on  a  single  track.  Fortu- 
nately the  line  between  Stratford  and  St.  Marys  Junction  was  straight  and  an 
accident  may  have  been  averted  by  quick  think:ng  and  rapid  action. 

48 


In  many  guises  I  have  heard  repeated  the  story  of  his  original  device  for 
answering  his  dispatchers  call  though  wrapped  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus  for 
forty  pilfered  winks.  He  was  working  in  Western  Ontario  and  the  rule  de- 
clared that  each  operator  should  keep  in  touch  with  the  dispatcher  every  hour 
while  on  duty,  write  "6"  and  sign  their  telegraphic  signature  of  a  letter  or  two. 
This  meant  the  next  thing  to  eternal  vigilence  during  the  quiet,  lonesome 
hours  of  the  night.  It  would  appear  Edison  attached  an  extra  wheel  to  the 
mechanism  of  the  office  clock,  governing  it  by  an  independent  spring.  Around 
the  rim  of  this  wheel  he  cut  dots  and  dashes  spelling  the  stereotyped  message 
and  his  code  "Sig.",  arranging  the  wheel's  position  so  that  it  made  one  revolu- 
tion each  hour  at  the  time  agents  usually  flashed  "All  well."  From  the 
the  clock  pinions  a  series  of  wire  coils  connected  with  a  weak  solution  jar 
battery,  were  rigged  and  thence  passing  over  the  telegraph  key  joined  the 
charged  main  wires  leading  therefrom.  When  the  clock  struck  each  hour 
the  supplementary  wheel  sent  the  necessary  intermittent  ticks  along  the 
temporary  mediums  and  were  in  turn  transmitted  via  the  trunk  wires  to 
headquarters.  The  version  given  me  by  another  "oldest  inhabitant"  would 
indicate  that  he  had  the  night  watchman  trained  to  turn  the  wheel  hourly 
by  hand.  With  such  ingenuity  did  the  budding  inventor  abbreviate  his 
nocturnal  vigils  and  conductors  Mammoth  Johnston  and  silk  hat  Dick  Thorpe 
never  knew  the  difference  as  they  whizzed  past  into  the  encircling  gloom. 
This  anecdote  bears  the  hall  mark  of  a  measure  of  probability  and  has  been 
vouched  for  by  some  of  Edison's  contemporaries,  but  the  yarn  that  he  orce 
affixed  to  the  telegraphic  office  door  a  contrivance  that  made  it  collide  with 
the  nasal  organ  of  a  spying  superintendent  is,  likely  spurious.  When  working 
at  Fort  Gratiot  he  introduced  without  fuss  or  feathers,  an  improvement  in 
relaying  messages  across  the  River  at  Sarnia  which  reduced  the  labor  involved 
by  half,  evincing  in  this  test  an  early  aversion  to  ponderous  method  and  high 
costs,  which  has  characterized  his  subsequent  experiments  and  helpful  dis- 
coveries. 

In  his  commercial  wire  practice  at  Detroit  his  colleagues  of  other  days 
remember  him  as  a  good  press  reporter  whose  handwriting  resembled  printing 
more  than  a  string  of  Spencerian  script.  They  tell  how  he  tied  the  Gotham 
wiseacres  and  would  be  jokers  into  knots  with  his  deliberateness  and  speed, 
the  key  and  its  characters  being  a  part  of  him,  like  a  Centaur  and  his  horse. 
His  demeanor  was  at  times  friendly  and  discursive,  followed  by  spells  of 
dreamy  reflection  and  profound  reticence  and  he  would  frequently  immerse 
himself  in  tinkerings  with  the  sounder  and  key,  adding  to  and  endeavoring 
to  make  them  different  and  more  amenable  to  his  advanced  ideas.  The  reel 
with  a  paper  ribbon  on  which  a  message  from  the  other  end  was  registered  by 
means  of  dots  and  dashes  indented  thereon,  had  not  then  been  entirely  replaced 
by  the  sound  system. 

On  February  24th,  1868,  Mr.  Edison  arrived  in  Toronto  en  route  Boston, 
and  after  a  brief  visit  with  his  former  friend  John  Murray,  a  well  known  dis- 
patcher, afterwards  some  years  at  Belleville,  started  eastward.  On  this  date 
a  traffic  paralyzing  three  day  storm  set  in  and  the  "G.T.R."  train  was  snow 

49 


stalled,  compelling  Mr.  Edison  and  several  others  to  return.  Expecting 
improved  weather  and  resumption  of  train  service,  he  spent  considerable  time 
about  the  old  depot  and  men  who  met  him  then  state  that  he  was  a  desultory 
talker,  an  inveterate  thinker  and  a  chain  smoker  quite  oblivious  to  the  fleet- 
ing hours  of  the  night.  The  late  James  Stephenson  was  superintendent  at 
Toronto  that  winter,  Henry  Bourlier  so  long  and  honorably  connected  with 
the  Allans,  was  station  agent,  W.  A.  Wilson,  erect  and  active  to-day,  just 
recently  retired  from  the  "New  York  Central,"  was  the  Morse  Code  operator, 
W.  C.  Nunn — inventor  of  a  railway  signal  device  in  1856 — was  agent  at  Bel- 
ville  and  "the  admiral,"  Mr.  Frederick  J.  Glackmeyer,  Ontario  Parliamentary 
Sergeant-at-Arms,  December  27th,  1867  (50  years)  1917,  had  only  two  months 
before  bid  adieu  to  ticket  work  in  the  old  station  where  Thomas  Edison  pur- 
chased his  ticket. 

On  February  27th,  he  again  essayed  the  sixteen  hour  journey  to  Montreal, 
and  at  Boston  in  1870  the  Duplex  System  appeared,  enabling  two  operators 
to  send  independent  messages  over  a  single  wire.  Then  came  his  perfection 
of  the  Quadruplex,  permitting  two  people  at  each  end  to  forward  and  receive 
telegrams  simultaneously. 

His  astounding  creative  mentality  seemed  to  give  birth  to  successive 
world  wonders  as  regularly  as  the  birds  nest  in  springtime  and  more  or  less 
familiar  brain  children  include  the  telegraphic  button  repeater,  stock-tickers, 
an  electric  pencil  with  motor  for  duplicating,  the  phonograph  and  waxen  re- 
cords, dictaphone  and  revolutionizing  incandescent  light,  then  the  mechanism 
for  taking  moving  pictures.  To-day  the  speaking  cinematographic  pictures 
or  kinetophone,  steps  confidently  out  of  the  laboratories  at  Orange,  N.J.,  to 
mystify  yet  convince  the  incredulous  and  expectant  populace. 

Some  years  ago  his  friend  John  Murray  paid  his  respects  at  New  York 
and  was  well  received  by  his  former  acquaintance.  Requesting  permission 
to  inspect  the  interior  economy  of  the  "Western  Union"  telegraph  office,  Mr. 
Edison  introduced  him  by  letter  to  the  proper  person  asking  that  every  atten- 
tion be  shown  him  and  adding  "WThen  Mr.  Murray  was  an  operator  on  the 
'G.T.R.,'  I  was  a  news  vendor." 

Thus  does  this  unusual  man  round  out  a  useful  career,  his  balance  an 
object  lesson  to  conceited  prigs  and  his  wizard-like  achievements  an  incentive 
to  rising  generations. 


50 


A  GIGANTIC  HUMAN  HIVE 

Is  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Headquarters 

TO  have  one's  activities  in  office  or  household  likened  to  the  alertness 
and  foresight  of  the  bee  is  equivalent  to  a  pronounced  compliment. 
From  time  immemorial  the  beehive  has  ever  been  regarded  by  the 
peoples  of  Occident  and  Orient  as  the  storehouse  and  base  of  the  busiest  little 
folks  in  the  animal  kingdom — as  the  distinctive  emblem  of  concentrated  in- 
dustry, where  laggards  do  not  abound. 

In  Windsor  Street,  opposite  the  fine  cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  Montreal, 
Quebec,  stands  a  spacious  stone  castle,  the  handsome,  towering  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  hive,  and  verily,  it  is  alive  with  endeavor  and  swarms  with 
the  spirit  of  enterprise.  Inhabited  chiefly  by  king  bees — and  a  few  queens — 
this  host  of  2000  flaunt  no  iron  crosses  for  inefficiency  and  here  drones  have 
no  place. 

From  the  pinnacle  position  in  the  steeple,  ably  filled  by  a  shrewd,  demo- 
cratic nobleman,  down  the  scale  through  a  labyrinth  of  departments  to  the 
youngster  affixing  postage  and  dreaming  of  the  Vice-Presidency,  every  official 
and  employee  in  that  busy  headquarters  of  the  greatest  transportation  cor- 
poration within  the  world's  ken,  plays  his  part  in  the  drama  "making  hay 
while  the  sun  shines."  Feeling  that  they  are  an  integral  part  of  a  gigantic 
organization,  they  play  tick,  tack,  toe  writh  $153,000,000  in  rolling  stock  and 
participate  with  sincerity  in  the  annual  round-up  of  30,000,000  tons  of  freight 
that  require  95,000  cars  of  divers  shapes  to  transport,  in  addition  to  moving 
16,000,000  passengers  for  $30,000,000  necessitating  a  string  of  equipment  that 
would  reach  forty  miles  from  Toronto  to  Hamilton.  2255  locomotives  pull 
this  traffic.  When  all  hands  and  the  cooks  on  the  dining  cars  are  intensely 
occupied  in  harvesting  the  golden  honey,  then  is  the  management  in  clover. 

Concealed  in  the  brains  of  this  directorate  of  specialists,  or  tableted  in 
the  company's  archives  and  records,  repose  secrets  pertaining  to  matters, 
methods  and  men,  of  crowned  heads,  governments  and  undercurrents  of  com- 
merce, finance  and  future  intention  which,  if  given  publicity,  would  make  the 
listener  gasp  in  wonderment  and  likewise  aid  him  to  roll  in  riches. 

Apart  from  an  extensive,  intermediate  network,  (totaling  15,000  miles) 
her  unbroken  chains  of  trains  span  an  additionsl  3,600  miles  of  continent  from 
the  cod  banks  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  salmon  spawning  beds  along  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  dovetailing  there  with  some  of  the  splendid  units  of  a  fleet  of  a  hundred 
vessels  valued  to-day  at  $65,000,000,  which  circumvent  the  seven  seas  carry- 
ing "Canadian  Pacific"  prestige,  influence,  secret  service  and  international 
communications  between  all  races  and  temperatures.  There  are  no  fields  of 
production  in  any  clime  on  the  planet  known  to  civilized  man  that  this  dynamo 
of  energy,  trade  and  travel  has  not  investigated  and  if,  through  development 
or  encouragement,  a  modicum  of  reciprocal  traffic  is  extracted  or  the  sweets 
of  industrial  success  can  be  promised,  rest  assured  that  exploring  bees  will 
return  to  the  hive  with  documentary  proof  or  Marconigrams,  cable  and  mails 
will  herald  most  recent  results. 

52 


It  is  a  marvelous  modern  reality,  smacking  of  the  magic  of  Bagdad  caliph 
eras,  that  the  Windsor  Street  cabinet  of  individually  expert  cosmopolitans, 
with  their  teeming  clusters  of  resourceful  understudies,  command  a  meta- 
phorical view  of  the  surface  of  all  hemispheres,  like  a  submersible's  captain 
seated  beside  the  disk  of  camera  obscura  scanning  the  ocean's  bosom.  It  is, 
however,  only  with  the  searchlights  of  peace,  of  barter  and  trade  and  commer- 
cial expansion,  which  spell  security  and  comfort  for  mankind,  that  the  "C.P.R." 
sweeps  the  horizons,  feels  the  universe's  pulse  and  keeps  in  touch  through  the 
medium  of  the  electric  spark,  with  the  aspirations  of  the  world's  brown,  yellow 
and  Caucasian  children.  She  underestimates  no  detail  and  quietly  assumes 
any  legitimate  task  of  magnitude,  transferring  one  unaccompanied  child  or 
100,000  Orientals  by  sea  and  land  from  non-essential  avocations  in  this  place 
or  that  to  other  environment  and  back  again  without  mishap,  fuss  or  feathers. 

Composed  of  forty-five  acquired,  leased  or  controlled  railways,  this  im- 
mense, corporate  body,  holding  the  keys  of  access  to  almost  any  domain  and 
caucus  of  the  sons  of  Babel,  this  syndicate  that  has  the  entree  to  exclusive 
circles  and  "inside  information,"  that  is  rich  in  agricultural  lands  and  demon- 
stration farms,  in  timber  and  tie  reserves,  rich  in  gas  rights  and  petroleum 
areas,  that  controls  coal  collieries,  smelters  and  hotels  and  banks  much  specie 
of  the  realm,  has  a  soul. 

In  her  scattered,  flourishing  family  many  are  called  but  few  are  chosen 
to  attain  the  exalted  places,  which  are  easily  memorized.  If  her  sway  is  uncon- 
genial or  her  pay  seems  not  enough,  you  may  withdraw  and  the  ranks  close 
up,  but  for  those  who  remain — and  they  are  80,000 — she  offers  standards  of 
remuneration  far  from  the  foot  of  the  column.  Her  pensions  department, 
with  a  fund  of  $900,000  and  a  yearly  contribution  of  $500,000  to  the  reserve, 
even  now  protecting  850  former  employees,  is  generous,  and  I  could  cite  you 
instances  where  employees  resuming  duty  partly  convalescent,  have  been 
relieved  indefinitely  for  recovery,  under  salary.  Several  others,  permanently 
incapacitated,  have  reason  to  be  grateful  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  for 
gratuituous  aid  and  acts  of  thoughtfulness  seldom  attributed  to  big  interests. 

Official  Ottawa,  Washington  and  the  Court  of  St.  James  do  not  think  it 
judicious  to  lay  bare  for  public  perusal  at  present,  what  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  Company  may  or  may  not  have  accomplished  in  the  realm  of  finance 
and  loans,  apropos  the  great  international  struggle  of  humanity  and  dem- 
ocracy. 

The  fruitfulness  of  the  mission  of  a  transportation  company  with  $1,038,- 
074,983.26  of  assets,  with  a  property  investment  of  $538,510,563.24  and  annual 
gross  earnings  of  $152,389,334.95  must  be  well-nigh  incalculable,  especially  to 
a  democratic  country — to  the  last  great  west,  with  so  vast  an  area  and  promis- 
ing though  veiled  future.  The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  is  heavy  with  import 
and  deeply  interlaced  with  the  potentialities  of  our  own  Canada. 


53 


W.  B.  LANIGAN 

Freight  Traffic  Manager,  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
A   Biographical    Reminisence 


AN  Irishman  taking  home  a  large 
goose  after  a  raffle,  stopped  at  a 
hillside  inn  in  Wicklow  to  pro- 
cure refreshment.  Laying  down  the 
prize  he  proceeded  to  satisfy  his  thirst 
when  a  suspicious  looking  individual 
seized  the  fowl  and  made  off  with 
it.  Pat  at  once  gave  chase  and  grasp- 
ing the  runaway  by  the  neck  ex- 
claimed, "What  did  you  take  the  bird 
fore"  "Sure!"  said  the  thief,  "an'  I  took 
it  for  a  lark".  "Did  ye",  said  Pat,  be- 
gorra  then,  you'd  make  a  poor  judge  at 
a  bird  show". 

And  by  the  same  token,  the  man  or 
maid  who  would  take  W.  B.  Lanigan  for 
an  uncivil,  disgruntled  misanthrope,  who 
could  not  enjoy  a  lark,  would  be  a  de- 
cidedly poor  judge  of  human  nature.  He 
has  rubbed  shoulders  with  good  and  ill 
fortune,  has  contended  for  thirty-three 
years  with  almost  every  variety  of  rail- 
roading obstacle,  hewing  his  way  to  com- 
paratively smooth  sailing  under  the 
"C.P.R."  flag  and  the  ordeal  has  not  im- 
paired his  optimistic  outlook,  but  finds 
him  to-day  a  sociable,  approachable  and 
happy  dispositioned  man  of  affairs. 
Do  not  infer  from  this  tribute,  however,  that  the  gentleman  cannot  look 
after  himself,  does  not  jealously  protect  his  Company's  best  interests  and  is 
incapable  of  administering  a  merited  rebuke,  or  even  a  scorching  blast,  because 
he  can.  An  old  admirer  and  personal  friend  described  him  to  me  as  a  hot- 
headed Irishman  of  fine  parts  with  whom  he  had  had  many  a  good  natured 
wrangle  in  his  attempts  to  circumvent  the  railway's  rates  and  regulations. 

In  Three  Rivers,  Quebec,  October  12th,  1861,  William  B.  Lanigan  was 
born  and  in  due  time  was  educated  at  St.  Josephs  College  of  that  city  and  at 
Stanstead  University  in  Old  Quebec.  Sharbot  Lake  Junction  is  a  quiet  place  and 
no  doubt,  was  a  lonesome  spot  that  night  in  September,  1884,  when  he  first  put 
his  hand  to  a  man's  task  as  night  operator  in  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
station.  Undaunted,  he  obeyed  orders  and  began  the  foundation  for  a  future 
that  led  him  through  practically  every  phase  of  freight  traffic  work  from  help- 
ing in  construction  and  running  a  ballast  train  to  shed  porter,  billing  clerk, 
telegraph  operator  and  undertaking  the  "trick"  of  train  dispatcher. 

54 


W.  B.  LANIGAN, 

Freight  Traffic  Manager, 

Canadian    Pacific    Railway, 

Montreal,  Que. 


Dundalk  knew  him  as  agent  for  a  year  and  liked  him,  but  the  canny 
Galtonians  got  better  acquainted  during  a  longer  stay.  In  Gait  they  were  not 
averse  to  sandwiching  a  little  Irish  with  their  Scotch  and  the  ingredients  were 
mixed  with  success.  Mr.  Lanigan  was  accepted  at  par  as  a  sterling  neighbor, 
a  good  churchman  and  a  valuable  municipal  asset.  He  did  much  to  band  the 
business  men  together  by  encouraging  and  arranging  the  most  pleasant  rail 
outings  for  merchants  and  manufacturers  which  the  city  ever  participated  in. 
He  took  part  with  several  leading  citizens  in  weekly  talkfests  on  various  topics, 
extending  his  general  knowledge  and  debating  powers  and  was  founder 
of  the  Toadstool  Club  in  the  days  when  Bob.  Scott,  Robert  Ferrah,  Martin 
Todd,  the  malster,  and  others  gathered  with  him  to  receive  John  Strachan  and 
Malcolm  MacGregor  of  the  "Erie,"  John  Hunter  of  Allan  Line,  Joe  Hickson  of 
N.Y.C.  &  H.R.R.,  with  Jimmie  Duthie  and  Miles  Overend  of  Dominion  Line. 

When  he  was  agent  at  Gait  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  opened  their 
depot  at  London,  Ont.,  with  a  banquet  in  the  new  building  to  commemorate 
the  event.  Officials  who  had  arranged  the  function  requested  W.  B. 
Lanigan  to  respond  to  one  of  the  principal  toasts.  He  acquitted  himself 
so  well  in  his  presentation  of  the  subject  then  and  on  another  occasion  at  the 
Imperial  Hotel  in  Gait,  when  his  name  was  coupled  with  the  district  agricul- 
tural interests,  that  General  Manager  David  McNicol  felt  convinced  that  the 
young  man  could  be  better  used  in  more  important  work  and  he  was  soon  as- 
signed to  the  duties  of  Traveling  Freight  Agent  ensuring  gradual  advancement 
and  prominence. 

On  one  occasion  during  the  period  that  Mr.  Lanigan  was  City  Freight 
Agent  at  Toronto,  when  cautious  agents  had  to  figure  four  different  combina- 
tions to  obtain  the  best  quotation  to  British  Columbia,  the  writer,  in  competi- 
tion with  "C.P.R.",  submitted  a  shipper  an  accurate  rate  but  not  the  current 
minimum  weight,  which  also  fluctuated.  Mr.  Lanigan  soon  accidentally 
stumbled  on  this  error  in  the  course  of  his  day's  rounds  and  came  without 
delay,  only  to  myself,  about  the  matter,  discussing  the  inadvertent  oversight 
in  a  quiet,  most  friendly  and  gentlemanly  way  and  the  incident,  which  could 
have  been  magnified,  was  heard  of  no  more.  This  is  a  sample  of  one  of  his 
traits  of  character  and  training  that  prompts  men  to  say  "He  pours  oil  on  the 
troubled  waters"  and  smooths  the  ripples  that  inevitably  arise  between  his 
employers  and  their  host  of  patrons. 

It  was  George  T.  Lanigan,  a  New  York  Journalist,  who  some  years  ago 
wrote  "The  Akoond  of  Swat  is  dead — that's  what's  the  matter",  which  made 
him  over  night  one  of  America's  high  salaried,  most  talked  of  newspapermen, 
and  his  brother  "Billy"  has  oratorical  gifts  and  is  lucid  with  tongue  and  pen. 
He  is  an  effective  and  witty  after  dinner  speaker  who  can  be  depended  on  to 
drive  home  facts  in  a  pleasing  manner,  and  in  1900  when  the  late  Phil.  Slatter, 
City  Passenger  Agent,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Toronto,  was  president  of  the 
Canadian  Ticket  Agents'  Association,  Mr.  Lanigan  delivered  to  that  organi- 
zation at  their  annual  banquet  in  the  Walker  House,  Toronto,  a  humorous 
and  finished  address  proving  that  Moses  was  the  first  genuine  passenger  em- 
igration agent  and  that  the  very  widely  known  and  popular  "C.P.R."  official, 

55 


\Y.  T.  Dockrill,  was  the  second  because  of  his  marked  success  in  directirg 
large  parties  of  settlers  beyond  the  Red  River. 

W.  B.  Lanigan  has  not  been  unmindful  of  former  assistants  and  several 
from  Old  Ontario,  having  merited  his  imprimatur,  followed  him  westward  and 
are  justifying  his  confidence. 

The  United  States  railway  world  has  produced  from  time  to  time,  and 
held  up  to  democratic  public  approval,  scores  of  men  of  indomitable  will  and 
working  capacity  who  have  wrested  recognition  and  advancement  "from  the 
ground  up"  to  the  highest  executive  honors  capital  could  bestow;  for  instance, 
C.  W.  Brown,  president  of  the  New  York  Central  Lines,  who  once  piled  ties 
along  the  C.M.  &  St.  P.R.,  for  a  living,  or  rodmen  who  now  control  the  great 
United  States  Government  affinity,  the  Pennsylvania  System,  as  well  as  a  few 
naturalized  "Americans"  with  Canadian  lines,  but  I  do  not  recall  a  "native 
son",  laboring  always  with  one  company,  whose  record  surpasses  the  many 
sided  experiences — hard  at  the  time — of  the  official  who  has  been  for  ten  years 
Assistant  Freight  Traffic  Manager  at  Winnipeg.  This  golden  west  gateway 
is  a  strategical  point  to  the  wide-a-wake  corporation  employing  W.  B. 
Lanigan,  he  measures  up  to  requirements. 

As  this  article  goes  to  press  his  appointment  as  Freight  Traffic  Manager, 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  Montreal,  is  announced. 

9  '  :9     '9 
JAMES   CHARLTON 

The  Nestor  and  Grand  Old  Man  among 
passenger  agents 

AT  no  period  in  the  world's  history 
have  those  fundamentals  of  a  stable, 
social  structure — morals,  fidelity 
and  sympathy — been  burdened  with  more 
significance  to  humanity  than  at  present 
and  in  alluding  to  the  strengthening 
bonds  which  link  three  Anglo-Saxon 
nations,  it  would  seem  not  inopportune 
to  dwell  orr  the  characteristics  of  a  gentle- 
man, a  Briton  who  was  highly  endowed 
with  those  basic  virtues  and  who,  in 
passing,  left  their  indelible  impress  on 
his"  personal  relations  and  throughout  a 
long  life  of  active  railway  experience  in 
England,  Canada  and  United  States. 

Born  1832  in  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  James 
Charlton  was  reared  where  steam  rail- 
way traditions  were  coined,  as  George 
Stephenson  the  great5  inventor  originated 
there,  shops  for  thej  manufacture  of  the 
first  locomotives  were  located  in  Newcastle 
and  the  old  town  became  an  important 

56 


The  Late  JAMES  CHARLTON. 


railway  centre.  Then  was  created  a  new  motive  for  boyhood  dreams  and 
the  power  and  fascination  of  engines  and  trains  focussed  the  attention  of  many 
men  noted  later. 

In  1845,  when  thirteen,  young  Charlton  engaged  with  the  Newcastle  & 
Carlisle  Railway  and  from  that  time  ideas  of  serious  business  and  the  elements 
of  a  splendid  character  began  to  mature  and  array  themselves  a^  convictions. 

In  twelve  years  he  rose  by  sheer  ability  from  the  threshold  to  the  posi- 
tion of  chief  clerk  and  cashier  in  a  period  when  meteoric  promotions  in  staid 
old  England  were  most  uncommon  and  following  the  example  of  Joseph  Hick- 
son,  afterwards  (Sir  Joseph),  and  W.  K.  Muir,  from  the  same  neighborhood,  he 
answered  in  1852  the  call  of  the  west,  entering  the  audit  office  of  the  Great 
Western  Railway  of  Canada  at  Hamilton,  Ont.,  during  the  regime  of  Messrs. 
Brydges,  Reynolds  and  Swinyard.  Mathematically  alert,  his  penchant  for 
details  won  for  him  the  title  of  General  Auditor  and  to  these  duties  were  soon 
added  those  of  the  General  Passenger  and  Ticket  Agent  of  the  line. 

He  was  extremely  particular  as  to  uniform  business  methods  and  re- 
quired from  his  stafT  strict  conformity  with  this  rule  in  the  handling  of  corres- 
pondence, files  and  care  of  papers.  He  would  not  tolerate  litter  nor  unanswered 
communications,  but  insisted  on  a  prompt  or  tentative  reply  to  letters  and 
telegrams  the  day  they  were  received.  If  it  were  not  possible  to  make  a  defi- 
nite reply  to  a  communication  the  writer  was  unfailingly  informed  of  the 
receipt  of  his  letter  which  would  be  given  immediate  and  further  attention. 
While  in  Canada,  Mr.  Charlton  made  many  acquaintances  and  some  inti- 
mate friendships  that  were  not  interrupted  during  the  balance  of  his  life. 
He  unconsciously  attracted  younger  men,  compelling  their  respect  and  in 
commercial  circles  was  classed  as  one  of  the  young  country's  early  railway 
pioneers. 

Responding  in  1870  to  the  insistence  of  Opportunity,  he  transferred  his 
allegiance  to  the  North  Missouri  Railway  as  General  Passenger  Agent,  but 
only  until  January  1st,  1871,  when  he  assumed  in  his  fortieth  year,  the  im- 
portant position  of  General  Passenger  and  Ticket  Agent  of  Chicago  &  Alton 
Railway  under  President  Blackstone,  at  the  time  that  financier  and  his  asso- 
ciates secured  control  of  the  North  Missouri  Railway.  This  Railway  shortly 
after  became  the  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  &  Northern  Railway,  and  in  the  late 
80's  was  merged  into  the  Wabash  System.  Mr.  Charlton  attained  a  unique 
and  deserved  prominence  in  his  chosen  sphere  of  progressive  "American" 
railroading,  and  to  these  new  responsibilities  he  brought  to  bear  his  now  well 
developed,  zealous  and  forceful  business  axioms,  and  an  absolute  loyalty  and 
fidelity  to  the  corporation,  and  in  particular,  the  officers  to  whom  he  reported. 

He  was  naturally  inclined  towards  high  ideals  in  life  and  loved  Right, 
because  it  was  right.  His  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond:  his  YES  meant  YES 
and  his  NO  meant  NO,  and  no  person  was  ever  able  to  twist  his  answer  into 
any  other  meaning  and  get  away  with  it.  His  associates  in  business  never 
doubted  for  a  single  moment  any  statement  he  made  and  relied  on  his  carry- 
ing out  his  promises  and  agreement  to  the  letter.  Figuratively  speaking,  he 
was  a  human  prototype  to  the  sturdy  oak  or  a  solid  English  bridge,  speeding 

57 


f 

the  multitudes  safely  on  their  journey,  indulgent  to  the  hurricanes  of  youthful 
hastiness  and  impervious  to  trivialities. 

The  first  half  of  a  popular  expression,  "The  nineteenth  century  belonged 
to  the  United  States,  but  the  twentieth  will  be  Canada's,"  was  acknowledged 
after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  and  concurrent  with  the  rapid  expansion  of 
American  railway  facilities,  Canada  suffered  a  heavy  exodus  across  the 
border  of  youthful  brain  and  brawn  in  which  Mr..  Charlton  later  played  a 
part.  He  was  the  friend  of  young  men  who  would  take  hold  and  make  an 
effort  in  the  railroad  business  and  he  probably  brought  from  Canada  to  the 
United  States,  and  started  on  their  careers  there,  a  larger  number  than  any 
other  official  engaged  in  traffic  affairs,  who  found  him  painstaking  in  his  efforts 
to  educate  them  in  the  right  way  to  handle  their  work.  He  was  a  martinet 
regarding  that  important  essential  Punctuality  and  it  is  said  of  him  that  he 
was  never  known  to  be  late  one  minute  beyond  the  hour  appointed  for  any 
meeting  or  business  engagement.  Always  an  early  riser,  he  breakfasted 
never  later  than  6.30  in  the  morning,  sat  down  precisely  to  the  minute  at 
12.00  o'clock  for  luncheon  and  took  his  dinner  at  6.00  o'clock  every  evening. 

When  at  headquarters  he  never  missed  being  the  first  man  in  his  office, 
8.00  to  8.15  a.m.,  thus  anticipating  the  regular  office  opening  hour,  8.30  a.m. 
He  invariably  left  his  office  at  5.00  p.m.  daily,  walking  the  three  and  a  half 
mile  journey  to  and  from  his  residence  when  conditions  were  favorable.  These 
unusually  methodical  habits  were  the  occasion  of  considerable  comment 
among  other  officers  and  business  confreres.  Mr.  Charlton  hated  a  lie,  scorned 
misrepresentation  of  any  kind  and  positively  would  not  permit  anyone  to 
remain  in  his  employ  who  let  liquor  secure  the  upper  hand,  and  whose  be- 
haviour and  home  life  threatened  to  bring  the  railway  company  into  disrepute. 

Unlike  the  majority  of  employers  and  railroad  officials,  it  is  known  that 
he  recognized  a  good  man  by  paying  him  well  and  also  assisting  him  to  grasp 
opportunities  for  his  betterment  with  other  railways  and  those  who  wrorked 
under  him  at  one  time  are  now  holding  official  positions  on  several  railroads 
throughout  the  west  and  in  some  of  the  eastern  states. 

Loyal  and  fair  himself,  he  deeply  appreciated  such  qualities  in  others  and 
rewarded  with  sympathetic  interest  and  substantial  assistance  those  long 
service  colleagues  who  became  embarrassed  through  injury,  ill  health  or 
declining  years.  They  were  protected  by  assignment  to  easier  positions:  with 
the  generous  sanction  of  his  executive  chiefs — obtained  by  going  "to  the  front" 
in  person — Mr.  Charlton  secured  additional  funds  of  the  Company  to  tide 
over  periods  of  unusual  expense  incurred  by  several  who,  through  service 
rendered  and  fidelity  to  the  Company's  interests,  he  knew  merited  thoughtful 
consideration.  I  remember  being  informed  of  an  instance  respecting  the  case 
of  an  old  friend,  for  twenty-five  years  with  Mr.  Charlton  in  the  service  of  the 
Chicago  &  Alton  and  other  railroads,  who  contracted  an  admittedly  fatal  dis- 
order and  who  was  carried  on  the  pay  roll  until  death,  the  Company  defraying 
as  well,  the  cost  of  medical  attention  and  nurse  constantly  in  attendance  for 
a  period  of  two  years. 

58 


The  Chicago  Observer  declared  in  1896  that  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railway 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  convenient  and  luxurious  of  American 
railroads,  that  it  was  the  first  to  run  sleeping  cars,  to  have  dining  cars,  inau- 
gurating also  the  first  free  reclining  chair  cars  and  reminded  the  public  to  bear 
in  mind  that  these  paying  innovations — quickly  imitated — were  largely  due 
to  the  Company's  indefatigable  chief  of  passenger  traffic. 

The  New  York  Tribune  stated  that  Mr.  Charlton  was  the  ablest  and  most 
widely  known  General  Passenger  Agent  in  America  at  the  time  he  relin- 
quished passenger  traffic  duties  to  become  the  first  Chairman  of  the  newly 
organized  Trans-Continental  Passenger  Association  comprised  then  of  prob- 
ably fifty  transportation  lines.  For  thirteen  years,  or  until  death,  he  dis- 
charged the  comprehensive  obligations  of  that  position  to  the  satisfaction  of 
a  not  always  unanimous  body  of  ticket  and  traffic  experts  and  his  excellent 
judgment  and  ability  as  an  arbitrator  on  vexed  questions  was  often  most 
essential. 

As  the  lines  of  this  paragraph  are  being  transferred  from  mind  to  page 
in  the  rolling  train  the  transparent  frozen  surface  of  Hamilton  Bay,  dotted 
with  an  ice  boat  and  a  few  skaters,  lies  a  few  yards  below  and  stretches  away 
to  beach  and  bar,  with  a  colony  of  fishing  shanties  squatting  in  the  cove  not 
far  from  the  location  of  the  awful  "Des  jardins  Canal"  wreck,  March,  1857. 
Sixty  years  ago,  over  the  same  surface  James  Charlton  skated  and  scudded  on 
an  old  pair  of  ''double  mooleys"  with  screws  in  their  heels  and  he  enjoyed 
this  sport  ever  after.  During  his  life  in  Chicago  he  frequently  indulged  his 
fondness  for  the  pastime.  Railroading  Hamiltonians  who  praise  their  bay, 
may  not  recall  hearing  that  the  late  Samuel  R.  Callaway,  ex-President  of  the 
New  York  Central  Railway  when  a  stenographer — was  devoted  to  rowing  on 
the  same  sheet  of  water,  that  his  brother  W.  R.  Callaway,  G.P.A.,  Soo  Line,  also 
Alex.  Hilton,  P.T.M.,  Frisco  System  and  Messrs.  J.  Horsburgh  and  John  J. 
Byrne,  prominent  officials  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  Coast  Lines,  were 
wont  to  fish  therein. 

Although  a  splendid  speaker,  very  widely  known,  and  possessing  also  an 
extended  acquaintance  with  prominent  people,  James  Charlton  never  wore 
his  heart  on  his  sleeve  and  sincerely  wished  to  avoid  publicity.  Most  of  his 
leisure  was  spent  with  his  family,  and  being  a  man  of  letters — in  his  unusually 
large  and  well  selected  English  library.  He  was  an  authority  on  national, 
international  and  historical  matters,  wrote  for  the  London  Times  of  early 
United  States  railway  building,  did  some  reviewing  of  books  for  friendly 
editors  and  appreciated  good  poetry.  Myles  Pennington  in  '•  Railways  and 
Other  Ways"  says  that  for  a  time  he  published  portions  of  Browning's  works 
in  the  Chicago  &  Alton  official  railway  guide,  distributing  as  many  as  10,000 
copies  of  the  issue  per  month  until  their  preparation  became  too  ardous. 

In  his  business  relations  with  others  he  was  the  standard  of  courtesy.  Mor- 
ally and  in  every  way  absolutely  clean,  this  white  bearded  Nestor  of  passenger 
men  was  a  grand  old  man.  Is  it  not  a  gratification,  a  mental  bath  and  an 
inspiration  to  read  of  and  know  about  men  of  this  type,  particularly  in  high 
places. 

59 


11 


Photographs  courtesy  of  Canadian  Railway  &  Marine  World 

RECIPROCITY  IN   BRAINS 

Railways,  Steamships  and  Commerce  know  no  boundaries 

Executive  and  operating  officials  of  Canadian  railroads  born  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes 

Their  characteristics  and  what  they  plan  and  accomplish  for  investors,  traveling  comfort  and  international 

traffic  form  part  of  our  daily  reading 


1.  RIGHT  HON.  LORD  SHAUGHNESSY,  K.C.,  V.O., 

President  and  Chairman,  C.P.R. 

2.  The  late  SIR  WILLIAM  VAN   HORNE,  former 

President  C.P.R. 

3.  The  Late  C.  M.  HAYS,  former  Pres't  G.T.R. 

4.  F.  F.  BACKUS,  Gen'l  Manager,  T.H.  &  B.R. 

5.  C.  A.    HAYES,    General    Manager,    Canadian 

Government  Railways,  E.L. 


6.  E.  J.  CHAMBERLIN,  Ex-President;  G.T.R. 

7.  W.  S.  COOKSON,  Gen.  Pass.  Agent,  G.T.R. 

8.  U.  E.  GILLEN,  Vice-President,  G.T.R. 

9.  C.  G.  BOWKER,   Gen'l  Sup't,  G.T.R. 

10.  R.  L.  FAIRBAIRN,  Gen.  Pass.  Agt,  C.N.R. 

11.  G.  C.JONES,  Assistant  to  President,  G.T.R. 

12.  G.  M.  BOSWORTH,  Vice-President,  C.P.R. 

13.  HOWARD  G.  KELLEY,  President,  G.T.R. 


UNCLE   SAM'S   ADOPTED    SONS 

Their  name  is  legion,  but  this  is  only  remotely  realized  beyond  the  broad 
boundaries  of  their  chosen  field  of  action 

MERCURY  the  messenger,  fleet  and  comely  herald,  renowned  in  temple 
and  forum,  was  a  pet  of  the  ancients.     Without  demur  they  pedes- 
taled him  as  courier  of  the  gods,  rival  of  swift  sea  birds  and  dessem- 
inator  of  tidings  from  all  parts  of  the  world.      The  ready  inclination  to  laud 
dispatch,  prevalent  in  those  misty,  cob-webbed  eras   of   mythology,   survives 
after   cycles  of  ages  and   to-day  dwellers   on   this   mundane   sphere  observe 
history  repeat  itself. 

That  vital  requisite — speedy  transportation  by  land  and  water  for  the 
beings  and  news  of  the  universe — dovetails  so  exactly  with  the  modern  spirit 
of  expansion  that  the  men  responsible  for  mechanism  underlying  onward  move- 
ment, unwittingly  compel  admiration.  They  wear  the  laurel,  remaining  the 
nation's  favorites  until  the  "powers  that  be"  turn  thumbs  the  other  way. 

In  no  branch  of  human  endeavor  does  contention  with  competitor,  for  the 
plaudits  and  purse  of  the  public,  wax  keener  than  in  the  realm  of  railroading 
and  America  is  the  arena  where  the  fascinating  game  is  embellished  with  rare 
finesse.  Achievement  is  sweet  to  the  ambitious  and  in  this  scientific  pursuit — 
the  result  of  which  is  constantly  subjected  to  acid  test  by  a  discriminating 
people — men  of  brain  and  brawn  strive  mightily  for  humanity's  greater  safety, 
waging  a  ceaseless  campaign  for  more  productive  of  good  than  were  the  colon- 
ization feats  of  conquering  Roman  legions. 

After  the  triumph  of  Lincoln's  noble  purpose  and  binding  of  the  nation's 
wounds,  folks  slept  in  their  beds.  The  great  emancipator's  legacy — justice, 
forbearance,  charity — stirred  men  profoundly  and  his  appeals  for  amity  revital- 
ized the  myriad  dormant  avocations  of  peace,  foreshadowing  an  epoch  of  un- 
paralleled activity.  During  five  decades  since,  there  has  been  work  to  do  in 
United  States  of  America  and  worthy  men  to  do  it.  Uncle  Sam  has  no  com- 
mendable physical  qualification  if  you  concede  him  not  two  most  perceptive 
normal  optics  together  with  an  eye  in  the  back  of  his  head.  In  nepotism  an 
unbeliever,  with  scant  indulgence  for  clannishness  and  caste,  this  allegorical 
personage  suffered  all  applicants  to  joust  with  his  stalwart  native  sons  and  dem- 
monstrate  their  fitness  to  maintain  the  dignity  of  labor — the  basic  agency  in 
creating  his  country's  present  commercial  pre-eminence.  Was  Solomon  wiser? 
Behold  the  256,547  miles  of  steel  highway  under  operation  in  United  States  in 
this  year  of  grace,  which  encompass  the  land  like  the  network  of  veins  in  your 
torso,  bringing  each  remote  part  into  communion  with  the  centres  of  life. 

To  the  gradual  accomplishment  of  this  stupendous  undertaking  came  a 
swelling  stream  of  silver,  ripening  judgment,  indomitable  patience  and  a  bat- 
tallion  of  optimistic  Canadians  to  "make  good  measure". 

Down  the  avenue  of  years,  back  as  far  as  1840,  when  the  movement, 
unlike  that  northward  to-day,  was  almost  a  stampede  south,  Canada  had  been 
loaning  United  States  the  best  of  her  bone  and  sinew.  Thousands  of 
determined,  capable  young  men  craving  new  worlds  to  conquer,  burned  their 
bridges  and  sought  a  future  midst  beckoning  possibilities  which  the  Union 

61 


held  out  to  the  youth  of  the  day.  Honestly  received  and  judged,  their  colleagues 
verdict  doth  attest  a  high  percentage  have  shared  the  burden  in  providing 
transportation,  that  paramount  essential  in  advancing  civilization. 

Prophetic  was  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier's  forecast  "The  nineteenth  century 
belonged  to  United  States  but  the  twentieth  will  be  Canada's",  when  one 
reflects  that  the  year  1909  yielded  138,000,000  bushels  of  grain  and  beheld 
90,966  shrewd  Yankees,  (Messieurs,  your  pardon),  cross  with  cash  and  chattels 
to  John  Bull's  domain  to  participate  in  garnering  400,000,000  bushels  in  1915 
and  200,000,000  bushels  in  1917.  This  exodus  is  a  straw  indicating  one  quarter 
from  which  blows  the  breeze.  Will  the  outgoing  tide  float  with  it  the  scores 
of  former  Canadians  who  have,  through  industry  and  recognizance  of  trust, 
mortised  into  every  department  of  railroading  in  United  States?  Will  these 
naturalized,  integral  units  in  business  and  social  organizations  governed  from 
Washington,  sever  the  moorings  of  environment,  association,  intermarriage, 
to  return  to  the  land  of  their  birth?  Probably  not.  But  who  knows:  the 
answer  slumbers  in  the  womb  of  the  future. 

What  a  deal  of  strenuous  argument  would  have  sufficed  to  coax  James  J. 
Hill,  wizard  of  finance  and  foresight,  from  his  art,  enriched  castle,  St.  Paul, 
to  the  farm  near  the  village  of  Rockford,  Ontario,  where  in  boyhood,  he  followed 
the  lowing  herd  and  foraged  for  squirrels.  Occasionally  he  sought  denizens 
of  the  deep  along  the  St.  Lawrence  or  Labrador  Coast,  and  he  reached  into 
fields  and  factories  of  the  Dominion  for  tonnage,  but  the  wealth  and  power  he 
possessed  and  wielded  so  astutely  behind  the  scenes  for  Great  Northern  Rail- 
way, et  al,  were  not  stumbled  on  with  energies  relaxed.  His  mature  opinion 
regarding  economic  conditions  and  conservation  of  the  country's  natural 
resources,  was  the  outgrowth  of  years  of  watchfulness  and  a  peculiar  bent  for 
accuracy  in  conclusion  builded  primarily  on  a  heritage  of  worthy  foundations. 
Like  those  homespun  idols  of  the  people,  Presidents  Grant,  Garfield  and  Mc- 
Kinley,  he  lived  close  to  the  soil  absorbing  bodily  vigor  and  clarity  of  judg- 
ment amid  homely  surroundings. 

Biographies  of  such  outstanding  characters  as  Jim  Hill  make  inspiring 
reading.  If  this  generation's  youthful  male  population  cultivate  childhood's 
imitative  proclivities  they  could,  with  profit,  emulate  the  perseverance  of 
another  young  man  from  the  same  neighborhood.  Foremost  amongst  those 
whose  life  work  in  the  drama  of  ever  changing  railway  activities  has  introduced 
them  to  a  theatre  for  energetic  effort  in  the  sunny  south,  must  be  listed  the 
name  of  W.  B.  Scott,  President  at  New  Orleans  of  the  Texas  Lines  of  the  great 
Southern  Pacific  System.  Guelph,  Canada,  with  streets  named  to  commem- 
orate many  Scottish  cities,  proudly  boasts  that  he  is. her  son.  His  success  is 
the  concrete  result  of  hard  work  along  given  lines,  and  his  journey  from  the 
duties  of  messenger  boy  in  the  freight  shed  of  G.W.R. — G.T.R.,  via  the  route 
of  C.P.R.,  Winnipeg,  "Union  Pacific"  Omaha,  Santa  Fe  at  Chillecothe,  &c.,  &c., 
to  power  and  wealth  is  a  fascinating  study  for  younger  railway  men.  He  had 
been  Director  of  Maintenance  of  Way  &  Operation  for  S.P.R.  at  Chicago,  and 
his  present  most  important  position,  helping  to  determine  the  policy  of  the 
vast  network  which  annually  transports  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  world's 

62 


pleasure  and  health  seekers,  will  give  you  an  idea  of  the  calibre  of  the  man. 
He  is  modest  to  a  degree,  never  reads  what  is  printed  about  himself,  is  thorough- 
ly inured  by  long  experience,  to  the  ''hardships"  of  a  private  car  and  was  well 
known  by  the  late  E.  H.  Harriman. 

Close  to  Niagara  Escarpment,  at  Hamilton,  Ontario,  where  S.  R.  Callaway 
won  his  bride,  railroading  cast  it's  spell  broadcast,  inoculating  niany  promising 
youngsters.  Graduates  of  the  "Great  Western",  "Hamilton  &  Northwestern" 
and  "Northern"  schools  are  scattered  from  Halifax  to  San  Diego,  from  Van- 
couver to  Honduras.  James  Charlton,  first  "G.P.A."  of  the  Great  Western 
Railway,  Canada,  was  a  beacon  light  in  guiding  numerous  proteges  "up  and 
along".  You  may  wager  none  of  them  imitated  the  behaviour  of  young 
Keenedge  who,  when  saluted  with  "Does  the  train  leave  at  Eleven  sharp?" 
blandly  replied,  "Yes,  or  Eleven  slow,  if  you  like!"  They  all  memorized  and 
hummed  the  motto  "Learn  to  labor  and  to  wait".  John  J.  Byrne,  from  the 
same  city,  present  Asst.  Passr.  Traffic  Manager,  Santa  Fe  Coast  Lines,  took 
up  the  refrain  when  setting  out  to  contend  with  life's  odds  and  handicaps,  and 
by  doing  the  thing  to  be  done  with  earnestness  and  fidelity,  he  also  has  com- 
pelled recognition,  a  distinguished  place  among  his  fellows  and  Mammon's 
silver  recompense.  Through  a  similar  "course  of  sprouts"  and  monotonous 
introduction  to  details  passed  James  Horsburgh  Jr.,  Genl.  Passr.  Agent,  South- 
ern Pacific  Railway.  With  canny  disinclination  to  "Bid  the  devil  good-day 
before  meeting  him",  he  philosophically  set  the  pace  in  shouldering  onerous 
duties  and  accomplished  important  results  with  the  aid  of  a  large  corps  of  effi- 
cient assistants. 

A  contemporary  of  this  trio  and  candidate  for  the  order  of  merit  is  Alex- 
ander Hilton,  or  "Handsome  Hilton",  as  ladies  know  him,  who  also  was  born 
at  Hamilton  because  his  mother  happened  to  be  staying  there  at  the  time. 
He  was  "captured  young"  and  as  a  junior  developed  that  moral  fibre  and  eager 
spirit  which  buoyed  him  while  climbing  the  grade  to  the  position  of  Passenger 
Traffic  Manager,  Frisco  Lines. 

Robert  Somerville,  a  "C.  &  A."  Chicago  veteran,  now  President  Judson 
Company,  was  a  Hamiltonian;  likewise  Dave.  Bowes,  their  General  Manager. 
So  was  Harry  Jameson,  an  auburn  D.P.A.,  P.M.R.  Harry  Parry,  indefatigable 
Asst.  Genl.  Passr.  Agent,  "N.Y.C.  Lines",  Buffalo,  the  Jago  Brothers,  for  years 
with  the  "West  Shore"  and  A.  W.  Ecclestone,  Dist.  Passr.  Agent,  Nickel  Plate, 
New  York,  claim  the  Ambitious  City  as  birthplace.  All  keep  in  more  than 
telepethic  communication  with  friends  there. 

It  is  chronicled  in  the  log  that  the  bluff,  jovial  W.  F.  Herman,  former 
"G.P.A."  of  "C.  &  B."  Line,  Cleveland,  who  takes  to  water  like  reynard  to  a 
partridge,  got  a  bowing  acquaintance  with  a  vessel's  interior  economy  under 
W.  K.  Domville's  tutelage  in  the  old  "G.W.R,"  shops  at  Hamilton.  To  this 
city,  every  now  and  then,  comes  W.  L.  Stannard,  General  Agent,  C.  &  N.W.R., 
Detroit,  on  a  brief  visit  to  his  respected  sire,  which  stimulates  the  memory  of 
other  days. 

Over  the  hill  via  Caledonia  and  on  to  the  railroading  centre  St.  Thomas, 

63 


ALEX.  HILTON,  Passenger  Traffic  Manager, 
Frisco  Line,  St.  Louis. 

J.  WEBSTER,  Freight  Traffic  Manager,  N.V.C. 
&  H.R.R.,  Chicago. 

Late  DR.  STENNETT,  Auditor,  Expenditures, 
C.  &  N.W.R.,  Chicago. 

HARRY  PARRY,  General  Passengei  Agent, 
New  York  Central  Lines,  Buffalo. 

JOHN  J.  BYRNE,  Passenger  Traffic  Managert 
Santa  Fe,  Los  Angeles. 

GEORGE  W.  VAUX,  General  Agent,  Passenger 
Department,  Union  Pacific  Railway, 
Chicago. 


you  hear  the  homeguard  recall  with  satisfaction  the  various  milestones  passed 
by  James  A.  Stewart,  the  son  of  a  ' 'Grand  Trunk"  railway  man  here,  in  his 
march  from  a  minor  clerkship  to  the  lucrative  appointment  of  General  Passen- 
ger Agent,  Rock  Island  Lines,  Kansas  City.  In  Kansas  City  is  also  J.  D. 
Dewan  of  London,  freight  agent  of  the  fine  new  union  terminal.  Efficiency  is 
vital  at  this  busy  southwestern  gateway. 

Of  such  material  does  the  great  league  of  passenger  traffic  experts  consist 
and  their  mission  has  meant  an  evolution  in  train  growth  unprecedented  on 
two  hemispheres.  To  attain  high-water  mark  in  comfort,  speed  and  elegance, 
their  eternal  vigilance  and  rivalry  has  balked  at  naught  that  invention  could 
suggest  in  devices  of  steel,  electricity,  rare,  imported  woods,  marquetry  and 

64 


costly  draperies  to  adorn  and  strengthen  the  wheeled  and  floating  palaces  in 
which  they  evince  unbounded  pride.  Youth  must  have  its  sway,  and  because 
of  the  wanderlust  in  their  veins,  hundreds  of  these  Northern  blades,  fortified 
with  little  but  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body, elementary  knowledge  well  instilled 
and  an  instinctive  distrust  of  luxury's  blandishments,  sallied  forth  to  make  the 
mirage,  "Green  are  hills  far  away"  a  pulsating  actuality.  With  none  of 
Caesar's  braggadocio  and  red  fire  illuminating  their  advance,  a  goodly  number 
could  well  appropriate 
that  old  pagan's  slogan, 
"Veni,  Vidi,  Vici". 

The  operating  depart- 
m  e  n  t  of  the  railroads 
seems  to  have  had  a 
special  attraction  for  the 
capabilities  of  many 
Canadians,  which  is  born 
out  by  the  outstanding 
examples  mentioned  in 
this  partial  resume. 
Samuel  G.  Strickland, 
General  Manager,  C.  &  N. 
W.R.,  was  reared  at  Lake- 
field,  Ont.,  in  Kawartha 
Lakes  locality  and  it  takes 
a  good  man  to  please  the 
veteran  Marvin  Hughitt 
who  always  expected  a 
high  quality  of  service. 

Yet  another  United 
States  railroader  who  was 
cradled  in  Canada  is  W.  J. 
Jackson,  formerVice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  Chicago  & 
Eastern  Illinois  Railway, 
and  now  President  and 
Receiver  of  this  property 
at  Chicago,  who  has  recol- 
lections of  earlier  days 
when  he  was  "Johnnie" 
Jackson,  working  on  the 
"inwards"  desk  with  the  "G.T.R."  at  Toronto  before  he  went  west  with  the 
late  George  B.  Reeve  when  the  latter  was  traffic  manager  with  the  Chicago 
&  Grand  Trunk  Railway. 

There  comes  to  mind  the  names  of  half  a  dozen  operating  officers  located 
at  different  points  of  the  compass  beginning  at  the  "Atlantic"  with  John 
McCraw,  Superintendent,  Central  Vermont  Railway,  New  London,  Conn., 

65 


WILLIAM  J.  JACKSON, 
President,  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  Railway. 


born  at  Craigvale  and  well  trained  in  all  departments  by  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railway.  He  knows  the  game  from  billing  express,  handling  the  throttle  or 
shifting  a  bridge  at  night,  and  by  his  urbanity  and  quiet  effectiveness  made  a 
reputation  aHong  the  Sound.  George  Reith,  Superintendent  Virginian  Railway 
at  Norfolk,  Va.,  who  gravitated  from  unobtrusive  Hensall  to  scenes  of  greater 
scope;  John  T.  Lewis,  Superintendent  Tennessee  Central  Railway,  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  from  Hamilton,  who  did  not  "pass  the  buck"  but  shouldered  his  respon- 
sibilities; A.  L.  Boughner,  a  son  of  St.  Thomas,  now  Superintendent  of  Ter- 
minals for  "M.K.  &  T."  at  St.  Louis,  the  road  that  operates  the  "Katy  Flyer"; 
W.  H.  Jones,  formerly  with  "O.S.L.",  Pocatello,  at  present  Superintendent  of 
Southern  Pacific  Ry.,  Riverside,  Cal.,  and  J.  D.  Brennen  from  Brockville, 
beside  the  St.  Lawrence,  Superintendent  at  Sacramento,  for  the  same  extensive 
system. 

Indexed  with  Uncle  Sam's  adopted  sons  let  us  register  the  names  of  Arthur 
G.  Wells,  Los  Angeles,  California,  General  Manager,  Santa  Fe  Coast  Lines, 
the  son  of  a  Guelph,  Ontario,  postmaster,  whose  work  in  Detroit,  Toledo, 
Cincinnati,  &c.,  helped  him  to  climb  the  ladder  like  a  fireman  at  a  fire.  Like- 
wise, his  brother,  R.  E.  Wells,  a  general  manager  with  the  San  Pedro  System, 
genial  Geo.  W.  Hibbard,  formerly  A.G.P.A.,  C.M.&  P.S.R.,  Seattle,  and  A.  D. 
Charlton,  A.G.P.A.,  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  Portland,  Oregon.  There  are 
several  others  who  have  found  a  field  for  congenial  labor  along  ^the  Pacific 
Slope  where  perennial  verdancy  carpets  each  beautiful  valley  and  after  a  busi- 
ness trip  in  that  region  Mr.  Geo.  T.  Bell,  P.T.M.,  G.T.R.,  told  me  after  return- 
ing, some  time  ago,  that  "the  woods  were  full  of  them".  No  doubt,  he  had 
in  mind  the  case  of  Mr.  D.  W.  Campbell.  Born  in  Hanover,  Ont.,  about  1858, 
this  village  boy  moved  along  step  by  step  from  quiet  surroundings  to  a  place  in 
the  sun  that  demands  accurate  judgment  in  conserving  public  safety  and 
promoting  the  expectations  of  capital.  Durham  was  where  he  learned  the  differ- 
ence between  an  engine  cab  and  a  coupe,  how  to  abstract  way  bills  and  also 
prime  the  telegraph  battery  jars  with  blue  stone.  He  dispatched  trains  with 
the  G.T.R.,  at  Stratford,  with  the  C.P.R.  at  Moose  Jaw,  the  C.B.  &  Q.R.  at 
Dubuque  and  the  N.P.R.  at  Missoula,  Montana,  gaining  confidence  and  repu- 
tation. For  some  time  his  headquarters  was  at  Tekoa  on  the  "O.R.  &  N.Co." 
As  Superintendent  of  this  line  he  was  transferred  to  Portland  and  to  Seattle. 
Later  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  engaged  his  services  for  executive  duties  at 
terminals  beside  Puget  Sound,  which  were  the  forerunners  of  assignments  in 
California,  culminating  in  the  berth  of  Asst.  Genl.  Manager,  Southern  Pacific 
Ry,  Los  Angeles,  as  gazetted  in  the  current  issue  of  Official  Guide. 

The  lustre  of  that  becoming  virtue  modesty,  dims  not  if  blossoming  in  a 
railroader's  physique,  but  when  a  prominent  man  like  John  Francis,  General 
Passenger  Agent,  Burlington  Route,  side  steps  a  niche  in  "the  hall  of  fame", 
deprecating  the  reproduction  of  his  photographed  features,  and  explaining. 
"Twenty  years  have  elapsed  since  I  faced  a  machine  that  would  stand  for  such 
an  operation",  his  bashfulness  checks  "Over"  and  generates  regret.  The  bap- 
tismal archives  at  Longueuil,  Quebec,  record  the  initial  appearance  of  Mr. 
Francis,  but  he  has  been  "Present"  many  times  since  and  proven  an  entertain- 

66 


CEO.   W.   HlBBARD, 

Of  Geo.   W.   Hibbard   Co.,   Brokers,   Seattle, 
Formerly  A.G.P.A.,  C.P.R.,  Montreal,  and  G.P.A.,  Puget  Sound  Route. 


67 


ing  raconteur.  Frank  F.  Barbour,  retiring  G.P.A.,  Rutland  Railway,  was 
cradled  at  Montreal,  and  east  of  this  former  possession  of  King  Louis,  at  New- 
port, in  the  maritime  "finnan  haddie"  province  of  Nova  Scotia,  Eben  E.  Mac- 
Leod was  born.  The  path  he  traversed  to  Chairmanship  of  Western  Passenger 
Association  led  through  Eastern  Canada  and  eight  different  ticket  office  posi- 
tions in  various  states.  Mr.  MacLeod  courted  responsibilities,  always  received  a 
square  deal  under  the  Stars  &  Stripes  and  the  end  is  not  yet,  as  he  is  in  his 
prime  and  looks  the  part. 

The  hands  of  destiny  which  mold  futures,  often  weave  a  woof  of  inscrutible, 
unfamiliar  design.  Had  James  Webster,  the  persistent  Owen  Sound  student, 
been  informed  by  D.  McNicol  in  olden  days  when  they  were  together  on 
"Toronto,  Grey  &  Bruce",  that  his  horoscope  prognosticated  "Freight  Traffic 
Manager"  in  1918,  "Jimmie"  would  have  scorned  the  soft  impeachment  and 
played  sluggard  in  swallowing  the  Scotchman's  capsule.  Yet,  James  Webster, 
master  of  detail,  the  Nickel  Plate  graduate  whom  "N.Y.C."  has  exalted, 
deserves  a  bronze  in  the  gallery  of  immortals  to  radiate  encouragement  for  the 
struggling  faithful  and  confusion  to  grumblers.  Mr.  W.  A.  Terry,  Asst.  Freight 
Traffic  Manager,  N.Y.C.  Lines,  Chicago,  spent  some  time  in  his  youth  in 
Canada.  Minus  the  sustained  efforts  of  these  officials,  of  their  passenger 
confreres  and  the  gentlemen  comprising  the  solicitation  staff  identified  with 
the  traffic  departments,  the  railways  could  boast  of  gilded  coaches  and  a  nickel 
rail  and  then  be  doomed  to  failure,  notwithstanding  the  swan  songs  sung  by 
some  of  our  operating  friends,  declared  a  very  prominent  traffic  officer  in  the 
Northwest. 

It  is  estimated  by  financiers  that  $500,000,000  were  to  be  spent  in  Canada 
during  1910  to  meet  proposed  expansion  by  the  Government,  great  corpora- 
tions and  railways.  Expectations  did  not  bulk  so  large  when  W.  D.  Carrick, 
who  is  Genl.  Baggage  Agent,  St.  Paul  Road,  resigned  from  the  Great  Western 
Railroad  in  1879  to  obey  Horace  Greely's  command.  Excepting  five  years  in 
"G.W.R."  service,  where  was  laid  the  foundation  of  practical  knowledge,  his 
career  has  been  one  of  continuous  devotion  to  a  single  company.  You  will 
observe,  if  you  have  seen  him,  that  the  cares  of  state  make  scant  impress  on 
the  features  of  this  wholesome  looking  gentleman  who  considers  riches  but  the 
baggage  of  fortune. 

Mr.  Carrick  came  from  Gait,  Ont.,  and  the  brothers  Albert  and  Thomas 
H.  MacRae  who  manage  and  edit  the  popular  employees  magazine  of  the  Santa 
Fe  Railway  also  originated  there.  From  prosaic  Guelph,  where  bare-footed 
boys  duck  in  the  deep  holes  of  the  Riverlet  Speed,  came  C.  E.  Button,  former 
Genl.  Agent  at  Helena,  Mont.,  for  Great  Northern  Railway.  Eugene  Duval, 
Omaha,  A.G.W.A.,  of  C.M.  &  St.P.R.,  years  ago  thrived  lustily  on  the  ozone 
of  Quebec  and  Colonel  W.  J.  Boyle,  G.A.P.D.,  Milwaukee,  now  and  then  harks 
back  to  former  days  in  Chatham,  where  also  Charley  McPherson  and  Geo.  J. 
Ryan — recently  Genl.  Industrial  Commissioner  of  "Great  Northern",  now 
with  the  Soo  Line — learned  their  P's  and  Q's.  To  this  incomplete  catalogue 
of  aspirants  to  stellar  honors  who  investigate  balances,  tariffs  and  interlocking 
switches,  as  bees  do  the  flowers,  may  be  included  J.  H.  Ellis,  from  Belleville 

68 


1.  CHARLES  A.  GORMALY,  Commercial  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Chicago,  111. 

2.  JOHN  W.  KEARNS,  District  Passenger  Agent,  Pere  Marquette  Railway,  Detroit,  Mich. 

3.  GEO.  O.  SOMERS,  Secretary,  "U.S.A."  Government  Northern  Railway  Committee,  St. 

Paul,  Ex-General  Freight  Agent,  G.N  Railway,  Ex-Traffic  Manager,  United  Fruit  Co. 

4.  The  Late  ALEX.  MC!NTOSH,  of    Mclntosh  Brothers,  Milwaukee,  Railway  Contractors. 

5.  JOHN   McCRAW,  Traffic   Manager,   Groton   Iron   Works,   Groton,   Conn.,   builders  for 

United  States  Shipping  Board,  Ex-Superintendent  Central  Vermont  Railway,  New 
London. 

beside  the  placid  "Quinte",  Secretary  of  "L.  &  N.",  Louisville,  F.  W.  Main, 
Toronto,  Auditor  "C.R.I.  &  P.",  Kincardine's  standard  bearer,  W.  Hogarth, 
Auditor  El  Paso  &  Southwestern,  and  Charles  A.  Gormally  so  capably  represent- 
ing the  "G.T.R."  in  the  heart  of  things  at  Chicago.  Affable  Alex.  Macdougall, 
D.P.A.,  I.C.R.,  St.  Paul,  John  W.  Kearns,  D.P.A.,  P.M.R.,  Detroit,  and  C.  R. 
Graves,  C.P.A.,  Salt  Lake  Route,  Los  Angeles,  when  punching  the  time  limit 
at  the  ticket  window  in  days  gone  by,  may  remember  the  colloquy — "Can  you 
direct  me  to  the  best  hotel  in  this  town?"  asked  an  unacquainted  railway  man 
of  another  as  he  stepped  off  a  train.  "I  can  brother,"  said  he  going  away, 
"but  I  hate  to  do  it."  "Why?"?  Because  you  will  think  after  you  have  seen 
it  that  I'm  a  liar". 

The  proverb  "Economy — easy  chair  of  old  age",  expounds  a  cardinal 
requisite  in  railway  construction.  Deference  to  this  admonition  spelled  marked 
success  financially  for  Donald  and  James  A.  Macintosh,  "Men  from  Glen- 
garry", a  team  of  contractors  and  graders  favorably  known  to  western  railroad 
builders.  Jealous  of  reputation,  by  hewing  to  the  line  they  made  good  where 
others  often  failed  and  their  forty  years  of  unremitting  effort  were  crowned 
by  enjoyment  of  the  premium.  Speaking  over  the  casket  of  Donald  Alexander 
Mclntosh  in  Forest  Home  Cemetery  Chapel,  Milwaukee,  1915,  the  Reverend 
James  Oastler,  D.D.,  said  in  part,  "These  Glengarry  men  are  sons  of  the  men 
who  had  come  from  the  highlands  and  islands  of  Scotland  in  the  earlier  days — 
and  mighty  men  they  were — pioneers — builders  of  empires.  Their  manner  of 


69 


life  bred  in  them  hardiness  of  frame,  alertness  of  sense,  readiness  of  resource, 
and  a  courage  that  grew  with  peril.  Fighting  was  like  wine  to  them,  when  the 
fight  was  worth  while. 

We  of  the  United  States,  can  congratulate  ourselves  that  some  of  the  Glen- 
garry men  found  their  way  across  the  border,  and  brought  with  them  their 
courage,  their  resourcefulness,  and  their  love  of  the  open.  They  did  not  ask 
for  an  opening.  They  asked  this  question:  "What  does  the  world  need  to 
have  done?"  Then  they  set  about  doing  it.  Donald  A.  Mclntosh  was  a  man 
from  Glengarry. 

I  very  distinctly  recall  my  last  visit  with  him  and  he  convinced  me  that 
there  was  within  him  a  superb  nature,  a  fine  generosity — that  physically  and 
mentally  he  was  afraid  of  no  man." 

Dr.  W.  H.  Stennett  was  born  on  a  farm  beside  Lake  Simcoe,  Ontario,  in 
1832.  When  seventeen  he  settled  in  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  as  a  junior  with  a 
druggist,  meanwhile  gratifying  his  inclination  to  browse  among  books.  Later 
he  was  given  charge  of  the  production  in  a  department  of  a  chemical  manufac- 
turing company  and  being  an  omnivarous  reader  of  publications  pertaining  to 
chemical,  medical  and  surgical  knowledge,  he  undertook  the  study  of  medicine, 
graduating  at  the  Medical  College  of  Missouri  at  St.  Louis  in  1859.  With  a 
partner  he  commenced  practice  at  Bloomington,  111.,  and  Miss  Clara  Hughitt 
became  his  wife  there.  In  1867  Doctor  Stennett  retired  from  practice  to 
become  General  Agent,  Illinois  Central  Railway,  St.  Louis,  and  six  years  later 
was  appointed  "G.P.A."  of  C.  &  N.W.R.  From  1884-7  he  held  the  position 
of  Assistant  to  General  Manager,  afterwards  assuming  the  duties  of  Auditor 
of  Expenditures  with  the  same  company  and  he  retained  his  supervision  of 
that  department  for  19  years.  While  he  was  General  Passenger  Agent  of  C.  & 
N.W.R.,  his  duties  required  that  he  travel  a  great  deal  In  his  later  years  he 
preferred  to  remain  at  home,  and  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life, 
while  working  for  the  C.  &  N.W.R.,  he  did  not  take  a  vacation,  nor  during 
that  time  did  he  spend  a  single  night  away  from  his  home. 

He  loved  flowers,  spent  much  time  in  the  cultivation  of  many  varieties, 
and  carried  on  regular  correspondence  with  friendly  horticulturists.  Dr. 
Stennett  was  interested  in  a  wide  range  of  subjects  and  derived  much  pleasure 
from  discussions  with  intimates  among  railway  officials  and  literary  people. 

He  was  a  man  of  determination  and  died  practically  in  harness,  having 
left  his  duties  only  a  few  days  before  his  end,  and  on  July  22nd,  1915,  the  date 
of  his  death,  he  dressed,  bade  adieu  to  his  library  and  conversed  with  his 
family  two  minutes  before  his  spirit  took  flight. 

The  Great  Northern  Railway  has  at  St.  Paul  an  Asst.  Genl.  Passr.  Agent 
from  Sarnia,  Ontario,  in  the  person  of  W.  R.  Mills;  Mr.  J.  A.  Emslie,  Genl. 
Agent  Santa  Fe  at  Milwaukee,  originated  in  Canada.  John  F.  Barren,  Genl. 
Agent,  Union  Pacific  Ry,  Chicago,  came  from  London,  where  his  after  business 
hours  accomplishment  as  a  clever  monologue  artist  and  dancer,  were  perfected 
with  his  townsman  and  associate,  the  metropolitan  star  George  Primrose. 
M.  O.  Barnard,  Genl.  Agent,  N.P.R.,  Buffalo,  N.Y.,  is  a  lad  from  the  land  of 

70 


lacrosse  and  Sid.  Dewey  representing  the  "G.T.R."  at  New  York,  is  a  brother 
of  the  Grand  Trunk's  freight  traffic  manager. 

So  enamored  is  William  R.  Callaway,  Genl.  Passr.  Agent,  Soo  Line,  of 
the  scenery  and  hunter's  paradise  adjacent  to  his  line  that  he  dines  with  imple- 
ments mounted  with  buckhorn  purloined  through  a  coach  window  by  some 
friendly  sharpshooter.  He  has  ever  been  a  pronounced  independent  in  his 
methods,  basking  in  no  borrowed  brilli- 
ancy, and  as  an  original  and  persistent 
advertiser  since  the  time  of  his  regime  as 
"D.P.A.",  "C.P.R.",  Toronto,  this  gentle- 
man merits  his  unique  reputation.  It  is 
whispered  that  when  "relieving"  some 
years  ago  at  an  Ontario  hamlet,  one 
seductive  spring  morning  "W.  R."  quit 
angling  in  the  family  aquarium,  shut  up 
shop  and  prepared  to  separate  a  few 
shiners  from  a  creek  close  to  the  depot. 
Crawling  well  out  on  an  overhanging 
branch  he  dropped  anchor.  Being  then 
not  versed  in  the  gentle  art  tight  rope 
balancing,  drowsiness  or  anxiety  soon 
precipitated  a  crisis.  The  would  be 
Walton  turned  a  couple  of  neat  flip  flaps 
and  straightway  "Father  William" 
fathomed  the  moisture  beneath.  The 
fat  hotelkeeper's  "  Inexpressibles",  as 
Thackeray  terms  the  garment,  was  the 
only  alternative  afterwards  and  the 
"G.P.A."  admits  the  ensemble  would  have 
made  a  hungry  horse  turn  from  his  oats. 

"If  feasting,  rise",  saith  Opportun- 
ity: "Cities  and  fields  I  walk,  I  knock 
unbidden  once  at  every  gate."  Forsooth, 
the  elusive  sprite  does  and  sometimes 
peers  into  secluded  corners.  Besides 
being  awake  at  the  psychological  moment, 
a  clever  quartette  who  found  "Hustle 
while  you  wait"  their  staunchest  prop  in 
reaching  the  plums  were  Herbert  A.  Jack- 
son, W.  R.  Callaway,  J.  A.  Holden  and 
Geo.  O.  Somers.  Mr.  Somers  started  in 
life  with  none  of  the  helps  designated  as 
luck.  No  doubt,  he  thought  of  ease  but  worked  on  through  each  consecutive 
group  of  wearying  exactions.  As  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune  the  pro- 
gress of  this  village  boy  may  be  gauged  by  his  former  title,  traffic  manager  of 
United  Fruit  Company's  fleet  of  eighty  craft,  to  which  William  Mullins,  of 


GEORGE  BARNES, 

General     Agent,     Northern     Pacific 
Railway;      Vice-President,     Detroit 
Transportation   Club,   pictured  pro- 
moting Third   Liberty  Loan. 


71 


London  and  Toronto,   promptly  succeeded   and   to-day  directs    his   corpora- 
tion's developments  in  Cuba. 

Energy  unsparingly  applied  was  James  A.  Holden's  key  to  the  door  of 
advancement,  which   once   open  disclosed   the  road   to    preferment    growing 


E.  F.  L.  STURDEE, 

General  Agent,  Passenger  Department, 

Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  Boston,  Mass. 

A  Maritime  Province  Product  from  St.  John,  N.B. 

smoother  and  wider.  Always  in  the  atmosphere  of  moguls  and  shunts  when 
a  stripling,  nurtured  in  routine  as  biller,  telegrapher,  superintendent's  clerk, 
agent,  &c.,  he  found  it  easy  after  getting  in  motion,  to  push  on  to  St.  Louis  and 
the  Frisco  Railway,  to  an  executive  place  with  "C.O.  &  G.R.",  thence  Chicago 
and  the  freight  traffic  managership  of  Rock  Island  Lines.  Mr.  Holden,  who 
is  Vice-President  of  Kansas  City  Southern  Railroad,  but  just  now  busy  writh 

72 


the  Director  General  of  Railroads  at  Washington,  intimates  that  he  reached 
this  goal  without  cause  to  complain  of  the  way  he  has  been  dealt  with.  He 
was  a  railroader's  son  from  Whitby,  Canada,  and  office  boy  in  '77  on  the  now 
almost  forgotten  Whitby,  Port  Perry  &  Lindsay  Railway. 

It  was  the  primitive  equipment  of  the  pioneer  Whitby,  Port  Perry  &  Lind- 
say Railway,  meandering  through  forest  and  farm,  which  hypnotized  youthful 
John  W.  Platten,  Port  Perry,  who  became  afterwards  a  Vice-President  and 
influential  executive  officer  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad.  Prior  to  this  he 
spent  some  time  with  the  "G.P.A."  and  President  of  the  "Erie"  at  Cleveland, 
and  had  been  Treasurer  of  the  deceased  Central  Bank  of  Canada,  which  pre- 
pared and  qualified  him  for  the  position  of  President  and  General  Manager  of 
United  States  Trust  &  Mortgage  Company.  He  is  also  Chairman  for  the  share- 
holders of  "White  Star"  common  stock  and  with  E.  E.  Loomis,  President 
"L.V.R.",  made  a  special  train  survey  and  report  regarding  the  value  of  the 
"Canadian  Northern  Ry."  a  couple  of  years  ago.  Mr.  Platten  has  lately  been 
elected  President  of  the  Gulf,  Mobile  &  Northern  Railroad.  The  sponsors  of 
the  "L.V."  traffic  artery  from  Niagara  to  tidewater,  "fancied"  three  other 
Canucks  in  the  persons  of  John  S.  Wood,  Asst.  Genl.  Freight  Agent,  Geo.  W. 
Hay,  General  Baggage  Agent  and  N.  W.  Pringle,  A.G.P.A.,  New  York. 

Take  courage,  all  ye  who  falter:  retemper  the  spring  in  your  spine,  as  hard 
work,  thrift  and  a  mastery  of  the  duties  of  the  desk  next  above  is  Mr.  Jarvis's 
recipe  for  raising  one's  status  and  stipend.  The  majority — whether  Briton, 
Frank  or  Celt — accept  this  dictum  and  make  obeisance  to  the  inexorable  law: 
wherefore,  the  sons  of  "Our  Lady  of  the  Snows"  cheerfully  caught  hold  and 
lifted  with  their  cousins.  Shoulder  to  shoulder  these  joint  decendents  of  kin- 
dred mother  stock  have  added  to  the  national  wealth  by  perfecting  means  for 
distributing  inland  and  export  trade  to  the  widest  possible  compass.  The 
annual  interchange  of  business  between  United  States  and  the  fatherland  of 
Canadians  abroad  exceeded  $700,000,000,  being  third  to  what  was  transacted 
before  the  war  with  England  and  Germany,  while  their  collaboration  in  multi- 
plying communications  has  wrought  incalculable  gain  to  international  good 
will.  The  natural  affinities  of  the  two  Anglo  Saxon  families  dominating  North 
America  cement  the  industrial  and  social  fabric. 

This  deepening  of  a  common  sense  of  attachment  is  significant  and  may  yet 
wield  a  portentous  influence  on  world  politics  and  boundries.  The  growth  in 
harmonious  intercourse — fostered  by  the  advent  into  United  States  prior  to 
1900  of  one  in  every  six  persons  born  in  Canada — has  derived  stimulus  from  the 
dependable  characteristics  of  those  who  have,  in  the  sifting,  come  within  the  arc 
of  the  limelight.  These  resolute  knights  of  throttle,  lever  and  key— ex-Cana- 
dians of  stamina  and  discernment  in  railroad  building,  operation,  traffic  and 
finance — rank  high  as  participators  in  the  safeguarding  of  large  and  complicated 
interests.  They  are  in  sympathy  with  the  enterprising  and  restless  spirit  of 
their  "American"  confreres  and  both  seek  to  wrest  the  Caduceus,  or  golden 
wand  of  commerce,  from  Jupiter's  son  and  hasten  forward  with  development's 
message  to  silent,  virgin  places  and  to  peoples  beyond  the  seas. 

73 


' 
SAMUEL    R.    CALLAWAY 

His  Character  and   Notable  Career 

David  Hume,  historian  and  observer,  declared 
"It  is  better  to  be  born  with  a  cheerful  disposition 
than  inherit  an  income  of 'Ten  Thousand'  a  year.1' 


THE    gentleman    whose    features    are    reproduced    on     this    page    pos- 
sessed that  jewel  beyond  price.     Despite  vicissitudes  in  boyhood  and 
stubborn  perplexities  later,  it  was  his  wont  to  always  maintain  a  kindly, 
unruffled  exterior  which  seemed  to  spring  from  the  centre  of  his  being,  reflect- 
ing an  equable  temperament  and  much  self-mastery.     With  this  invaluable 
asset,  and  other  sterling  qualifications  of  mind  and  method,  Samuel  Rodger 
Callaway  quietly  and  steadily  spiraled  through  adverse  currents  to  an  altitude 

74 


in  the  science  of  railroading,  surmounted  by  the  golden  legend,  "Eighty  thou- 
sand a  year."  In  his  brief  span  he  attained  an  eminence  in  the  commercial 
firmament  which  most  men  cease  not  to  dream  of,  but  seldom  realize. 

Born  of  English-Scotch  stock  at  Toronto,  Canada,  December  24th,  1850, 
the  loss  of  his  father  summoned  him  to  toil's  daily  round  early  in  life.  As  the 
champion  and  counsellor  of  his  mother  he  was  thrust  into  the  arena  at  the  age 
of  thirteen,  when  he  entered  the  Grand  Trunk  service  under  the  eye  of  the  late 
Sir  Joseph  Hickson,  who  soon  observed  his  precocious  self-control,  prudence 
and  business  aptitude  even  at  that  chrysalis  stage. 

A  four  year  novitiate  beside  Superintendent  Gilman  Cheney,  of  the  Can- 
adian Express  Company,  was  followed  by  twelve  months  clerking  for  William 
Wallace,  Superintendent  of  the  Great  Western,  Hamilton.  His  chief  recrea- 
tion then  was  reading,  and  mild  indulgence  in  the  aquatic  pleasures  which 
Burlington  Bay  permitted. 

A  secretaryship  to  W.  K.  Muir  fell  to  him  in  1870,  when  both  joined  the 
fettered  D.  &  M.,  Detroit,  marking  young  Callaway's  assumption  of  impor- 
tant responsibilities. 

He  gave  full  value  for  his  remuneration,  working  without  friction,  like  a 
noiseless  machine,  and  shamed  slovens  by  close  application  and  attention  to 
the  smallest  commissions,  manifesting  such  executive  ability  and  economy  as 
operating  man  with  the  Detroit  &  Bay  City  Railway,  1878,  that  the  increasing 
traffic  greatly  enhanced  the  railroad's  value. 

At  his  thirty-fourth  milestone,  this  popular,  but  strict  disciplinarian,  be- 
gan in  1884,  for  Charles  F.  Adams,  three  years  of  arduous  duties  as  Vice- 
President  and  General  Manager,  Union  Pacific  Railway,  Omaha,  directing  re- 
construction work  of  magnitude  with  force  and  decision.  That  tells  its  own 
story.  Can  the  reader  recall  a  parallel?  It  was  said  of  him  that  he  knew 
almost  every  man  in  his  employ,  but  he  was  not  aware  of  how  his  unfailing 
courtesy,,  freedom  from  ostentation  and  justice  to  all  inspired  personal  loyalty. 

Always  seeking  knowledge,  he  travelled  upward,  serving  three  Canadian 
and  nine  U.S.A.  corporations  with  an  intellectual,  sympathetic  and  expansive 
grasp  of  things  which  pleased  magnates  and  earned  his  subordinates'  attach- 
ment. 

He  broad-gauged  the  Toledo,  St.  Louis  &  Kansas  City  Railway,  1887  to 
1894,  and  by  going  to  W.  K.  Vanderbilt  and  the  Presidency  of  the  Nickel  Plate 
in  1895,  a  prophecy  made  years  ago  was  fulfilled.  When  he  married  Miss 
Jane  Ecclestone,  at  Hamilton,  June  7th,  1875,  Mr.  C.  C.  Trowbridge,  his 
staunch  friend,  gave  him  the  following  letter  addressed  to  W.  H.  Vanderbilt: 

"I  take  the  liberty  of  giving  this  sealed  letter  to  Mr.  S.  R.  Callaway, 
who  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  during  my 
receivership  of  two  years.  He  does  not  know  its  contents.  My  object 
is  to  give  him  the  honor  of  your  acquaintance,  but,  more  particularly,  to 
have  you  know  him.  I  regard  him  as  one  of  the  most  promising  railroad 

75 


men  of  the  West.  He  has  been  in  the  business  from  early  boyhood  on 
the  Grand  Trunk,  Great  Western  and  D.  &  M.,  understands  telegraphy, 
and  is  familiar  with  the  duties  of  the  different  departments.  With  great 
purity  and  gentleness  of  character,  he  combines  a  quiet  force  and  decision 
which  has  commanded  the  esteem  and  respect  of  railway  men,  and  his 
knowledge  of  detail  and  love  of  system,  give  him  great  influence  with  his 
subordinates,  who  are  ardently  attached  to  him.  Perhaps,  in  the  future, 
when  some  of  your  faithful  ones  drop  out,  you  may  want  Callaway.  I 
have  no  motive  in  taking  this  liberty  but  the  desire  to  certify  to  the  worth 
of  a  man  whose  modesty  would  prevent  him  from  pushing  himself  into 
notice,  and  I  feel  sure  that  you  will  pardon  me." 

From  his  patrons  and  confreres  in  United  States  who  are  said  to  recognize 
and  place  merit  before  favoritism,  honors  came  fast  to  this  somewhat  reticent, 
easy  mannered  gentleman  with  one  passion — music  and  grand  opera — which 
he  delighted  to  indulge  at  the  "Metropolitan"  and  by  playing  arias  on  a  mag- 
nificent aeolian  erected  in  his  home. 

Invited  to  New  York  to  exercise  his  wisdom  in  directing  the  destinies  of 
the  L.S.  &  M.S.,  and  the  retirement  of  Senator  Chauncey  Depew  a  few  months 
later  signalled  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Callaway  to  the  Presidency  of  the  N.Y.C. 
&  H.R.R.,  and  affiliated  properties,  March  30th,  1898,  the  acknowledged 
master  of  one  of  the  greatest  business  enterprises  of  the  century. 

A  New  York  newspaper,  commenting  on  that  appointment,  said,  "It  has 
long  been  'President  Callaway',  as  he  was  born  Christmas  Eve,  1850,  and  since 
youth  has  been  a  Santa  Claus  offering  to  the  railways." 

It  is  related  that  when  William  K.  Vanderbilt  urged  Mr.  Callaway  to 
accept  the  Presidency  of  the  American  Locomotive  Company,  because  his 
corporation  could  not  meet  the  princely  salary  mentioned  in  the  new  contract, 
the  interesting  rumor  spread  so  rapidly  that  it  appeared  in  the  press  before  the 
new  executive  had  opportunity  to  acquaint  his  family  how  he  had  become  a 
business  man  with  prospects  that  would  keep  the  wolf  so  far  from  the  door 
that  he  dare  not  venture  this  side  of  the  next  concession.  The  newspaper 
references  came  to  the  notice  of  his  son,  a  boyish  wag  at  college,  who  immediate- 
ly wrote  home  saying,  "Dear  Father — I  see  by  yesterday's  paper  that  you  were 
forced  to  get  another  job  owing  to  the  extravagance  of  your  family.  I  want 
to  congratulate  you  on  your  great  success,  for,  judging  from  what  the  notices 
say,  you  have  struck  an  'oily'  position." 

Samuel  Callaway  had  spent  thirty  years  of  active  life  time  in  the  railway's 
service  and  was  considered  a  perfect  type  of  the  administrative  American  rail- 
roading man  through  inclination  and  training  from  boyhood,  conquering  diffi- 
culties and  contending  with  stern  realities  without  seeking  publicity.  He  did 
not  like  to  talk,  but  he  knew  well  how  to  meet  the  world  and  writing  of  him 
after  his  decease,  biographers  said  his  business  manners  were  flawless. 

When  he  first  went  to  New  York  as  President  of  the  New  York  Central 
Lines  there  were  some  who  thought  a  chill  had  come  over  the  President's 

76 


office,  so  long  kept  beaming  —  as  one  writer  put  it  —  by  the  geniality  of  Senator 
Depew.  The  cool  reserve  of  the  new  President  was  at  first  misunderstood, 
but  those  who  had  business  with  him  soon  realized  that  on  business  matters  he 
was  one  of  the  most  approachable  of  men.  During  office  hours  he  was  never 
diverted  from  close  attention  to  the  company's  affairs. 

As  a  thinker  who  saw  clearly  for  the  financial  colleagues  of  a  dozen  cor- 
porations; as  a  man  of  the  world  discussing  big  projects  in  exclusive  clubs  of 
the  metropolis,  his  extraordinary  judgment  was  emphasized,  but  the  simplicity 
of  his  quieter  side,  his  love  of  little  ones  and  thought  for  kith  and  kin  in  his 
native  land,  were  likewise  noticeable. 

He  counted  much  on  the  success  of  his  children  and  was  devoted  to  his 
family,  but  was  not  vouchsafed  the  anticipated  pleasure  of  their  society  in 
later  years  when  his  duties  would  have  been  less  arduous. 

At  the  age  of  fifty-four,  the  zenith  of  capability  and  ripened  opinion,  after 
completing  three  years  as  first  President  of  the  American  Locomotive  Com- 
pany, his  mighty  brain  ceased  to  originate  and  execute.  To  his  memory  earnest 
and  widespread  tribute  was  paid. 

His  career  was  a  homily  to  men  pessimistic  regarding  life's  outlook,  who 
capitulate  to  cynicism.  The  example  he  set  cannot  soon  be  forgotten,  nor 
should  study  of  the  character  and  purpose  of  S.  R.  Callaway  be  disregarded  by 
the  youth  of  this  generation. 

''His  life  was  gentle;  and  the  elements 
So  mixed  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  'This  is  a  man.'  ' 


THOMAS   N.   JARVIS 
An    Organizing    Genius 

FROM  the  banks  of  the  winding  Avon  the  boy  Shakespeare  went 
forth  and  his  genius  revitalized  and  gave  a  tremendous  im- 
petus to  literature  and  the  drama.  Were  you  aware  that  Strat- 
ford in  the  new  world  long  after  produced  a  son,  in  youth  Tom  Jarvis, 
who  is  undoubtedly  leaving  his  impress  on  the  peaceful  pursuit  of  inter- 
national trade.  Contend  if  you  will,  that  it  is  a  far  cry  to  the  hedge  rows 
of  merrie  England  for  a  parallel,  for  a  coincidence;  yet  there  is  a  modicum 
of  truth  in  most  generalizations.  The  elect  all  sing  small  in  the  beginnings. 
The  journey  of  the  Bard  from  obscurity  to  the  throne  room  was  tedious  and 
none  the  less  devious  is  the  pilgrimage  from  a  dingy  office  in  the  heel  of 
a  freight  shed  to  the  Vice-Presidency  of  one  of  America's  great  railway  high- 
ways. 

A  sprig  off  the  geneological  tree  which  inspired  the  name  of  a  Toronto 
residential  throughfare,  T.  N.  Jarvis  was  born  and  reared  in  Stratford, 
Ont.,  and  at  sixteen  essayed  the  study  of  legal  tomes.  This  was  dry,  un- 

77 


remunerative  occupation  and  about  1870 
he  exchanged  Blackstone  for  the  freight 
classification,  billing  desk  and,  to  him, 
the  less  monotonous,  more  congenial  rail- 
way atmosphere.  He  proved  to  be  any- 
thing but  "A  square  peg  in  a  round  hole" 
and  earnest  endeavo :  earned  rapid  pro- 
motions to  Paris,  Black  Rock,  Buffalo 
and  Cleveland.  At  the  expiry  of  seven 
years  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
International  Fast  Freight  Line;  a  twelve 
month  later  the  Blue  Line  and  in  1880 
to  the  Commercial  Express  Line.  It  is 
related  that  about  this  time  he  visited 
Cleveland  to  acquaint  a  certain  high  ex- 
ecutive official  of  his  contemplated  resign- 
ation to  assume  other  duties.  Suspecting 
the  nature  of  his  errand,  every  resource  of 
his  patron's  diplomacy  and  palatial  home 
were  enlisted  to  successfully  smother  the 
avowal.  Disappointed  at  the  outcome, 
the  ambitious  Jarvis  returned  to  head- 
quarters to  find  that  a  cheque  of  fair  pro- 
portions had  preceded  him  as  a  retainer. 
On  completion  of  the  "Nickel  Plate" 
in  1883  he  organized  the  Traders'  Dis- 
patch and  as  manager  was  the  youngest 
in  his  class,  with  a  pronounced  penchant 
for  ensnaring  traffic  netting  good  revenues.  The  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
Company  had  been  scrutinizing  the  trek  of  the  tall,  rangy  and  genial 
bachelor,  Tom  Jarvis — with  a  host  of  'pay  streak'  friends  from  Frisco  to  Fundy 
Bay — and  they  soon  made  it  "worth  his  while."  In  '98,  as  their  General 
Eastern  Agent  at  New  York,  his  traveling  men  garnered  cheese,  coal,  milk, 
live  stock  and  passenger  traffic  ad  libitum.  Circularized  again  and  again, 
he  subsequently  made  his  bow  as  Assistant  General  Traffic  Manager,  Freight 
Traffic  Manager,  and  in  March,  1906,  Vice-President. 

He  modestly  attributes  it  all  to  hard  work  and  the  aim  to  become  familiar 
with  the  duties  of  "the  men  higher  up."  Boys,  note  that  .  Cosmopolitan 
habitues  of  the  Lotus  Club,  for  instance,  and  friends  in  Ontario  watch  his 
progress  with  pride  and  await  news  of  further  honors.  Now  and  then  they 
have  opportunity  to  inspect  him  at  close  range  as  guests  in  his  private  car. 
While  the  methods  of  Mr.  Jarvis  in  business  are  incisive,  crisp  and  con- 
vincing, and  devoid  of  much  flowery  phraseology,  he  possesses  the  most 
approachable  and  kindly  personality,  which  unconsciously  wins  the  homage  of 
porter  and  President's  esteem. 

"Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise: 
Act  well  your  part — there  all  the  honor  lies." 

78 


THOMAS  N.  JARVIS, 
Vice-Fresident,  Lehigh  Valley  Rail- 
road, New  York. 


GEO.    J.    CHARLTON 


Passenger  Traffic  Expert 

PALE  faced  fanatic"  Geo.  J. 
Charlton  never  was  and  never 
will  be — so  his  friends  declare. 
The  metamorphosis  would  too  grievously 
trouble  him  in  spirit  and  tortue  his  avoir- 
dupois. Glance  again  at  the  features  and 
physical  contour  of  the  Passenger  Traffic 
Manager  of  "Chicago  &  Alton,"  the  cap 
sheaf  to  a  cluster  of  four  sister  transpor- 
tation corporations,  and  contradict  me, 
ye  phrenological  bump  feelers,  if  the  X 
rays  do  not  locate  there  a  large,  sympathe- 
tic heart,  optimism  profound,  great  capa- 
city for  work  and  the  ability  to  enjoy 
and  "Spend  money  like  a  sailor." 

Ever  since  the  time  his  education  began 
in  the  private  and  public  schools  of  his 
birthplace,  Hamilton,  Canada,  where  in 
boyhood  he  "Snapped  the  whip"  and 
operated  in  the  moonlit  melon  patch, 
George  Charlton  has  been  in  the  centre  of 
the  doings.  His  must  have  been  the 
hypnotic  eye,  or  he  carried  one  of  those 
heavily  charged  horse  shoe  magnets,  for 
the  boys  and  girls  all  liked  him  and 
gravitated  in  his  direction  without  know- 
why.  How  many  of  his  classmates  have 
since  made  the  same  good  use  of  their  time,  think  you. 

His  father  was  a  railroader  of  international  repute,  and  nurtured  in  an 
atmosphere  of  "ticket  affairs,"  it  was  not  unnatural  the  boys  name  should 
first  appear  on  a  railway  pay  roll  in  1875  as  messenger  in  the  general  passenger 
department  of  Chicago  &  Alton  Road. 

Thus  began  the  zig  zag  but  successful  ascent  of  Mount  Obstacle,  covering 
a  span  of  forty-three  years.  He  was  cast  out  of  the  right  kind  of  metal  and  did 
not  falter  at  the  prospect  or  prove  a  time  server  when  acting  the  role  of  junior, 
conductor's  clerk,  ticket  stock  recorder,  passenger  sales  accountant  and  rate 
expert. 

Invariably  devoting  the  best  that  was  in  him  to  his  work,  he  soon  realized 
that  the  position  of  understudy  conscientiously  performed,  was  a  wise  and 
diplomatic  plan  of  action  leading  to  unexpected  possibilities.  On  March 
14th,  1885,  Mr.  Charlton  came  within  the  arc  of  the  limelight  as  Assistant 
General  Passenger  Agent  of  the  "Alton."  January  1st,  1900,  witnessed  him 

79 


GEO.  J.  CHARLTON, 
Passenger  Traffic  Manager,  Chicago 
&  Alton  Railroad  and  allied  systems. 


accomplish  the  next  logical  move  in  advancing  to  the  position  of  General 
Passenger  Agent,  and  during  a  seven  years  tenure  his  jurisdiction  was  extended 
to  the  Toledo,  St.  Louis  &  Western  Railway,  styled  the  Clover  Leaf  Route. 
During  December,  1909,  the  Corporation's  President  gave  him  the  right  to 
have  emblazoned  on  his  business  cards  the  title  he  bears  to-day. 

While  this  panorama  of  promotions  glides  without  hindrance  across  the 
page  to  the  reader's  brain,  he  can  only  imagine  but  should  not  overlook  the 
monotonous  toil,  concentration  of  purpose  and  rebuffs  smiled  down  behind 
the  scenes  by  our  subject  long  before  a  recital  in  this  form  was  possible. 

The  best  opportunity  to  truly  sound  the  depth  of  a  man's  character  is 
to  work  with  and  beside  him.  As  you  may  surmise,  George  Charlton's  manner 
of  speech  and  demeanor  towards  his  staff  of  employees  is  not  rapid,  cold  and 
repellant,  but  a  reflection  of  the  desire  pulsating  within  him  to  interchange 
enthusiasm,  co-operation  and  loyalty  with  others,  measure  for  measure.  Woe 
betide  the  luckless  mortal,  however,  who  rouses  his  ire  by  flagrantly  violating 
these  commandments.  This  gentleman  of  tremendous  energy,  and  democratic 
inclinations,  always  finds  time  to  fraternize  with  his  men,  meeting  them  as 
equals  and  apparently  enjoying  their  society  as  much  as  they  appreciate  his. 

Kindliness  and  generosity  are  his  cardinal  virtues.  They  have  won  for 
him  the  affection  and  compel  the  highest  possible  respect  of  his  confreres  and 
those  characteristicts,  coupled  with  recognized  ability,  loom  large  when  one 
attempts  an  inventory  of  the  causes  underlying  his  success. 

The  far  reaching  effect  of  the  recent  order  issued  by  Mr.  W.  G.  McAdoo, 
Director  General  of  Railroads  in  United  States,  necessitating  the  release  of 
many  employees  of  the  "Alton"  who  had  been  loyal  members  of  Mr.  Charlton's 
railway  family,  distressed  him  keenly  and  quickened  his  broad  sympathies. 
He  immediately  became  "a  welcome  pest"  to  his  influential  friends,  through 
unremitting  efforts  to  assist  his  reluctantly  departing  staff  to  other  suitable 
employment. 

George  Charlton  is  a  votary  of  Comus,  the  ancient  and  rotund  god  of 
Merriment  and  that  mythological  personage  ranks  next  to  his  patron  saints. 
He  is  a  well  known  society  and  club  member,  identified  with  at  least  a  dozen 
organizations  including  the  Hoos  Hoos,  Elks,  Yacht  Club,  South  Shore  Country 
Club,  Union  League,  Chicago,  Green  Room  Club  and  Lambs  Club,  New  York; 
also  Hamilton  Old  Boys'  Association. 

He  is  immensely  popular  with  the  traveling  public  and  "man  in  the  street" 
and  they,  having  in  mind  the  Passenger  Traffic  Manager  of  that  triangular 
route  linking  Chicago,  St.  Louis  and  Kansas  City,  agree  that  the  wise  man  was 
right  when  he  said  "A  merry  heart  doeth  good  like  medicine." 


80 


JAMES   JEROME    HILL 


The  Late  JAMES  JEROME   HILL,   Ex-Canadian  and   financier  of  vision  and  resource   who 

built  the  Great  Northern  Railway  through  the  "Zone  of  plenty." 
K.  J.  BURNS,  Assistant  General  Freight  Agent,  Vancouver,  B.C. 
H.  A.  JACKSON,  Export  and  Import  Agent,  Seattle,  Former  Assistant  Traffic   Manager, 

St.    Paul,    (A    Toronto    Boy). 
H.   E.   WATKINS,   General   Eastern   Canadian  Agent,   Toronto,   Canada. 

Under  other  names,  the  Great  Northern  Railway  owns,  leases  and  operates  subsidi- 
ary lines  in  Western  Ca.nada,  of  which  the  Vancouver,  Victoria  &  Eastern  Railway  &  Navi- 
gation Company  is  the  principal — comprising  a  total  mileage  of  760  miles  and  entry  is 
made  into  Canada  by  crossing  the  international  border  at  thirteen  different  points. 

The  modern  terminal  of  the  V.V.  &  E.R.  &  N.  Co.,  Vancouver,  B.C.,  which  is  owned 
jointly  with  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co.,  cost  over  $600,000. 

At  Winnipeg  "G.N.R."  investment  in  Road  and  Equipment  totals $2,366,258 

In  Kootenay  District  investment  in  road  and  equipment  totals 7,426,095 

In  British  Columbia  investment  in  road  and  equipment  totals 30,947,140 

Additional  total  Canadian  investments 37,535,739 

81 


TRANSPORTATION  CLUB  OF  TORONTO 

Scene  of  Annual  Banquet,  C.  A.  Dunning's  Hotel,  November  27th,  1914. 
F.  H.  TERRY,  President,  Traveling  Agent,  G.  N.  R. 
A.  J.  TAYLOR,  Vice-President,  Canadian  Agent,  C.M.  &  St.  P.R. 
D.  O.  WOOD,  Vice-President,  General  Western  Agent,  Allan  Line. 
W.  J.  LANGTON,     Member    Executive,     Later     President;    Superintendent,       Dominion 

Transport  Co.,  (C.P.R.) 

T.   MARSHALL,   Member  Executive,  later  President,  Traffic  Manager,   Board  of    Trade. 
W.  A.  GRAY,  Secretary.     Contracting  Agent,   D.L.  &  W.R. 
M.  MACDONALD,  Treasurer,  Assistant  Inspector  of  Weighing,  G.T.R. 

82 


TRANSPORTATION    CLUB    OF   TORONTO 

BANQUET 

NOVEMBER,   1914 

"The  chairman   is  conductor  on   this   train" 
"You   won't   be  asked  to   make  a  speech" 

A   REVELER'S   DREAM 

AYE  Reuben  lad,  ye  missed  a  treat 
Last  Friday  when  you  failed  to  meet 
One  hundred  transportation  men 

Convened  from  city,  burg  and  glen, 
For  the  second  yearly  dinnerfest 

Of  fish  and  fowl  and  sparkling  jest. 
They  sought  the  board  from  moor  and  fen : 

Hoot  mon!  they  were  blythe,  merry  men. 
From  out  the  dome  peered  twinkling  stars 

Which  shone  on  knights  of  boats  and  cars: 
Within  host  Dunning's  spacious  halls 

The  KING  and  ENSIGN  graced  the  walls; 
Beneath  them  ranged  with  D.  O.  WOOD 

The  BLACK  PRINCE,  LORNE  and  stalwart  HOOD. 
HOTRUM,  STACKPOLE,  SOMERVILLE, 

And  scouts  who  answered  to  "just  plain  BILL." 
Duke  TERRY  then  inspects  the  guards 

And  straightway  signals  all  his  pards: 
He  trained  his  optics  down  the  line, 

Then  to  the  chaplain  gave  a  sign. 
With  smirk  and  quip  the  fray  began, 

Ye  gods!  they're  at  it  to  a  man. 
The  chef  was  new,  his  viands  fine, 
My  word!  how  they  did  sup  and  dine. 

Each  clansman  cracked  his  jest  and  pun, 
Warm  hearts,  good  cheer  made  all  the  fun. 

With  merry  clink  the  MAC'S  and  O'S 
Attacked  until  their  WILD  IRISH  ROSE. 

When  MARSHALL  diagnosed  their  case 
And  cried  "Enough,"  they  slackened  pace. 

Just  here  the  warblers  oiled  their  throats, 
Producing  full  BRAZILLIAN  notes, 

The  smokers  puffed  and  songs  were  surg, 
A  gem  was  that  from  RILEY  YOUNG. 

Will  Mcllroy  and  NANCY'S  choir, 
With  JULES  did  stud  sweet  music's  lyre. 

At  half  past  ten  the  screen  began 

83 


HALT!     PRODUCE  YOUR  PASSPORT 


To  picture  LARRY,  HANK  and  DAN; 
Why  Scots  had  thews  instead  of  fat 

And  differed  from  St.  George  and  Pat. 
Reuben  acushla!     I  wish  you  saw 
Dear  BERTHA'S  curves   and  WOLFE'S 

smooth  jaw. 

EDDIE  was  flashed  de-HORNING  a  cow, 
Alas,  poor  Yoric!  view  him  now. 
Admiral  HARRY  sailed  to  sea 
With  skippers  primed  in  drams  of  Tea, 
Hector  BENNETTO— Benn.  C.B.- 
THORPE, FITZ— MORICE,  Murdo 

Mac  D— 

SARGENT,  THOMAS,  Frank  C.  FOY 
Roared  with  unction  and  rocked  with  joy 
At  JACK  the  Moor  in  the  bear's  cage 
And  CALLAGHAN  was  all  the  rage. 
The  cartoons  ceased  in  quite  a  breeze 
With  Cupid  DICK  in  his  B.V.D's. 
WILL.  JACKSON,  wise  from  Spotless 
Town, 

Sate  cheek  by  jowl  with  soldier  BROWN, 
While  GRAY  and  GREEN  and  singing 
PINK 

Rehearsed  "The  toothbrush  in  the  sink." 


And  "Young  DICK  TINNING  haint  no  style, 
Deed  he  am  boss,  all  de  while." 

RICHARD  sang  "Maxwellton's  Braes" 
Performing  as  in  other  days. 

Oh  you  beautiful  doll  was  there 
With  bells  on  her  toes,  and  lard  in  her  hair. 

The  C.N.R.  and  G.T.P. 
The  CORNBELT  Route  and  N.  Y.  C. 

Hob-nobbed  with  he  of  the  C.  B.  Q. 
Beside  the  banks  of  the  winding  SOO. 

MULKERN,  entranced  beheld  the  throng, 
Impressed  was  he  with  the  'cello  song. 

Saintly  McCRAW  shed  one  large  tear 
O'er  wee  Baptiste  on  his  truckle  bier. 

The  joke  on  MURPHY  was  a  scream 
Beyond  the  Company's  fondest  dream. 

FALSTAFF  sampled  some  nut-brown  ale, 
Requested  a  schooner  and  then  a  pail : 

ANGUS  TORY  and  WELLAND  STRONG 
Thought  they  too  would  ride  along, 

But  ALEC.  BOYD  said  "Have  a  heart, 


84 


One  of  the  Songsters 


Does  'G.  &  W.'  take  no  part?" 

With  pretense  only,  Jimmie  S — 
Pitched  the  tent  of  the  Royal  Mess, 

At  this  the  owls  flew  off  their  perch 
To  safety  in  a  nearby  church, 

But  the  lion  cubs  drank  LION  brew, 
Avoiding  HENNESSY'S  Mountain  Dew, 

Yet  so  discreet,  no  man  did  mar 
By  deep  libations  from  the  jar. 

TIMOTHY --HEALEY    and    CARSON 

too, 
Prayed  that  night  in  the  self-same  pew, 

And  harked  to  MULLIN'S  vocal  gem, 
Which  touched  the  crew  from  stern  to  stem. 

Most  of  the  men  were  born  quite  young, 
And  some  before  had  never  sung, 

So  you  may  guess  the  bars  and  chords 
Issuing  from  that  House  of  Lords. 

Colonel  NELLES  and  Major  TIM, 
True,  bold  Britons,  were  in  the  swim. 

A  "GLOOM"  complained  to  JOLLY  JACK 
DONALDSON,  FAIRHEAD  — ANDREW 

MACK. 

That  Woolworth's  chiel  was  not  a  SCOT 
And  the  good  old  days  had  gone  to  pot, 
But  HOWARD,  HICKSON  and  Harvey 

Lloyd, 
Wreathed  in  smiles  the  fun  enjoyed. 

By  "Cobalt  Special"  SHERIDAN  came. 
Likewise  a  list  too  long  to  name: 

COLLINS,  FERNLEY,  CALDWELL,  GOULD, 
With  PERNFUSS  sleek,  massaged,  bejeweled, 

Like  "two-year-olds"  cut  up  old  Nick 
And  introduced  a  brand  new  trick. 

They  hopped  about  from  lid  to  lid, 
And  each  did  everything  Katy-did. 

The  N.  P.  R.  and  PHOEBE  SNOW 
Both  regretted  they  could'nt  go. 

Nobody  threw  the  harpoon  sharp, 
Nobody  prayed  or  played  the  harp, 

But  men  of  baggage,  boats  and  cars, 
In  har-mon-ee  smoked  long  cigars. 

They  lent  their  brilliance  to  the  scene 
And  polished  platters  slick  and  clean. 

After  the  sun  had  gone  to  rest, 
When  birds  and  beasts  were  all  undressed, 
The  hours  sped  fast  on  wheels  of  time 
And  the  flock  took  flight  ere  midnight  chime, 

Resolved  to  meet  'bout  next  July 
To  trap  that  badger  fierce  and  sly, 
Or  cage  the  kangarooster. 

85 


CHARLES  L.  SINGER, 

The     affable     and     accommodating 

ticket  agent,    M.C.R.,   St.   Thomas, 

Ont. 


The  late  A.  J.  TAYLOR  and  some  of  his  intimate  personal  and  business  friends 
Top  row — The  Late  JOHN  STRACHAN,  Erie  Railroad,  Toronto;  H.  G.  McMiCKEN,  European 
Agent,  G.N.R.,  London,  Eng.;  WM.  ASKIN,  Auditor,   Northern  Navigation  Co.,  Sarnia; 
The  Late  J.  D.  HUNTER,  Allan  Line,   Toronto. 

Bottom  row  — J.  J.  ROSE,  G.A.,  U.P.R.,  Toronto;  B.  H.  BENNETT,  G.A.,  C.  &  N.W.R., 
Toronto;  P.  G.  VAN  VLEET,  Publisher,  Toronto;  J.  R.  STEELE,  Freight  Claims  Auditor, 
C.P.R.;  F.  J.  GLACKMEYER,  Sergeant-at-arms,  Ontario  Government;  W.  SMITH,  Inspec- 
tor of  Post  Offices,  Toronto;  W.  JACKSON,  President,  Jackson  Mfg.  Co.,  G.T.A.,  C.P.R., 
Clinton,  Ont.;  W.  H.  CLANCY,  Ex-C.P.  &  T.A.,  G.T.R.,  Montreal,  Que. 


ANDREW   J.   TAYLOR 

Lines  to  the  memory  of  a  good  friend  and  business  associate 

IF  inscrutable  destiny  or  the  influence  of  circumstance  had  not  planned  for 
Andrew  J .  Taylor  the  career  of  a  widely  known  railway  man,  it  may  be  stated 
without  relying  on  too  elastic  imagination  that  he  could  have  qualified  to 
an  advance  degree  as  a  beloved  Presbyteriann  "dominie"  or  Catholic  priest. 
His  admirable  character  attracted  unusual  and  unsolicitated  confidences,  to 
human  anxieties  his  sound  sympathetic  counsel  applied  the  encouragement 
and  comfort  of  a  confessor  and  he  was  never  without  a  loose  shilling  for  the 
needy.  Coupled  with  these  attributes  he  possessed  a  moral  and  superior  mental 
fabric  and  when  you  learn  that  his  forebears  came  from  a  canny  nook  in  Scot- 
land it  will  explain  and  account  for  his  quiet  appreciation  of  honor  and  duty. 

Lesmahagow  or  Abbey  Green,  on  the  River  Nethan,  Lanarkshire,  was 
the  birthplace  of  his  father,  James  Mitchell  Taylor,  who  brought  his  ruddy 
cheeked  bride  from  the  English-speaking  settlement  of  L'Original  to  Ottawa. 
Her  father  succumbed  to  wounds  received  in  the  battle  of  the  Wind  Mill  and 
both  her  military  grandfathers  were  killed  in  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  In 
Bytown  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  June  24th,  1858,  and  spent  his 
childhood  with  four  brothers  and  four  sisters,  securing  his  education  in  the 
private  schools  which  predominated  in  those  days  and  in  the  world  of  exper- 
ience and  travel. 

As  a  boy  he  caused  his  mother  more  trouble  than  any  of  her  other  sons 
owing  to  the  fact  that  he  was  always  "Fighting  the  other  fellows'  battles", 
could  not  condone  bullying  and  was  the  staunch  friend  and  champion  of  a  deaf 
and  dumb  playmate  whom  children  chased  and  tantalized.  He  was  fond  of 
animals  and  during  his  life  in  Ottawa,  mill  slabs  and  water  were  delivered  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  river  and  often  the  horses  drawing  these  necessities 
were  neglected  and  ill  treated.  Invariable  his  gorge  would  rise  at  such  treat- 
ment and  he  waded  in  causing  no  end  of  trouble. 

As  a  boy  Andy  Taylor  playing  a  hymn  on  the  organ,  selling  ribbon  over 
the  counter  in  Elliott  &  Hamilton's  Ottawa  store,  or  juggling  with  rolls  of  carpet 
in  Mcllwraith  &  Egan's  at  Hamilton,  would  seem  to  those  who  knew  him  later, 
as  an  uncongenial  occupation  for  the  putter  of  the  heavy  shot  and  athletic 
participator  in  Caledonian  games,  but  such  was  the  case  with  him,  and  many 
another  youth  did  likewise  in  their  experimental  quest  for  the  right  thing  amid 
a  variety  of  business  pursuits. 

When  his  father  resigned  the  position  of  General  Freight  Agent  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  &  Ottawa  Railway  he  assumed  charge  of  the  passenger  interests 
of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway,  and  came  to  Toronto  to  repre- 
sent that  company — until  his  transfer  to  Pittsburg,  creating  in  1878  the  per- 
manent agency  which  was  withdrawn  only  last  December.  A.  J.  Taylor 
entered  his  father's  employ  as  a  clerk  at  Toronto  in  the  spring  of  1879,  covered 
the  territory  as  traveling  passenger  agent  under  his  direction,  succeeded  him, 
became  "C.F.&  P. A.",  in  1900,  and  as  a  respected  and  trustworthy  officer  his 
name  remained  on  that  company's  pay  roll  continuously  for  thirty-six;  years. 

87 


Although  his  agreeable  disposition  and  the  nature  of  his  duties  in  early 
manhood,  secured  him  throughout  Ontario  and  Quebec  an  extensive  acquaint- 
ance with  which  he  was  persona  grata,  Mr.  Taylor  did  not  eagerly  seek  new 
companionship  and  he  clearly  recognized  the  line  of  demarkation  existing  be- 
tween personal  and  business  friends.  However,  many  men  whom  he  met 
through  the  medium  of  commercial  connections,  soon  became  more  intimate 
and  it  was  only  a  "casual"  or  extra-sensitive  person  that  misinterpreted  a  cer- 
tain aloofness  or  transient  preoccupation  which  some  thought  he  appeared  to 
sometimes  display. 

Prior  to  1885,  the  year  when  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  threw  open  a 
new  gateway  to  Winnipeg,  Andy  Taylor  was  one  of  a  lively  United  States  rail- 
roading coterie  who  sought  a  share  of  that  growing  and  intensely  competitive 
passenger  business  then  moving  only  via  St.  Paul  to  the  Dakotas  and  Canadian 
Northwest.  He  proved  his  worth,  building  a  reputation  which  sustained  him 
long  after,  thus  gaining  for  his  employers  a  percentage  of  traffic  based  on  good- 
will towards  "Andy"  which  the  road  would  have  otherwise  been  denied. 

More  or  less  dogmatic,  and  always  deliberate,  in  argument  he  was  con- 
vincing and  his  personal  prestige  and  lucid  exposition  of  routes,  rates  and 
accommodation  ensured  regular  renewal  of  patronage  from  individual  travelers 
and  professional  ticketing  agents  from  Halifax  to  the  Detroit  River.  When 
he  was  in  his  prime — genial,  popular  and  as  strong  as  a  gladiator — he  partici- 
pated in  many  exciting  episodes  of  personal  character  and  incidents  arising 
out  of  the  unsettled  conditions  governing  travel,  ticket  scalping,  rate  cutting 
and  commissions  on  sales.  He  described  to  me  how,  on  one  occasion  the 
"Wabash'V'C.B.&Q.R.",  "C.  &N.W.R."  and  "C.R.I.  &  P."  made  an  agree- 
ment lasting  for  a  limited  period,  whereby  they  pooled  their  entire  passenger 
business  ticketed  through  Chicago,  Omaha  and  westward,  each  receivingan  equal 
monthly  division  irrespective  of  the  percentage  handled  individually.  While  this 
understanding  was  extant  his  employers,  the  "C.M.  &  St.  P.R.",  opened  their 
line  from  Chicago  to  Council  Bluffs,  Nebraska,  and  requested  admission  to  the 
charmed  circle.  The  quartette  black-balled  the  new  candidate  and  he,  through 
the  medium  of  increased  commissions  broke  the  cabal  and  the  status  quo  shot 
as  high  as  a  captive  balloon  with  feverish  excitement.  In  1885  one  Quebec 
agent  received  for  commissions  on  passenger  business  from  the  incoming  ships 
destined  the  west,  a  cheque  for  one  month's  bookings  amounting  to  $750.00. 

Like  the  late  Robert  Lewis,  long  connected  with  the  Lehigh  Valley  Rail- 
road, who  years  ago  fished  in  the  wilds  of  Northern  Muskoka  and  beyond, 
Andrew  Taylor  was  a  devoted  follower  of  the  sport  of  Isaac  Walton.  His 
regular  journeys  and  explorations  in  the  regions  of  fish  and  game  were  to  him 
anticipated  fixtures  and  the  source  of  much  pleasure  and  benefit.  He  visited 
many  haunts  in  his  time,  was  considered  an  authority  on  ways  and  means  to 
fill  a  creel  and  color  a  "meerchaum".  Like  Theodore  Roosevelt,  he  "dee- 
lighted"  to  handle  a  gun  and  was  better  than  the  average  as  a  wing  shot. 

Passionately  fond  of  outdoor  life,  with  him  originated  the  plan  for  a  per- 
manent headquarters  in  the  woods,  and  aided  by  his  associates  Messrs.  B.  H. 
Bennett,  J.  J.  Rose,  P.  G.  Van  Vleet  and  Jack  Goosdell,  the  well  equipped 
lodge  of  the  incorporated  Red  Chalk  Fishing  and  Game  Club,  six  miles  south 

88 


of  Bigwin  Island  in  Lake  of  Bays,  was  established  in  Northern  Muskoka,  with 
Andrew  Taylor  charter  president,  honorary  life  member  and  pater  famiiias  of  a 
sociable  brood  of  thirty  sportsmen. 

Having  been  an  ex-president  of  the  Victoria  Lawn  Bowling  &  Skating 
Club  and  the  Western  Bowling  Association,  London,  his  office  was  the  rendez- 
vous of  curlers  and  bowling  committees  as  well  as  fellow  members  of  the  Tor- 
onto Lacrosse  &  Athletic  Club. 

Few  of  his  friends  had  more  intimate  opportunities  to  realize  his  char- 
acteristics than  myself  and  one  must  labor  beside  a  person  to  obtain  the  true 
perspective.  The  antithesis  of  what  men  describe  as  a  "fourflusher",  he  could 
not  stoop  to  conquer  by  unfair  means,  but  was  punctilious  in  observing  the  code, 
in  the  propriety  of  personal  behaviour,  in  the  composition  of  a  sentence.  Al- 
though endowed  with  Scottish  caution,  in  many  ways  he  was  not  secretive  but 
almost  boyishly  candid  and  uniformly  courteous,  patient  and  generous  to  a 
fault.  The  confidante  of  his  father,  the  adviser  to  a  score  of  relatives,  idolized 
by  his  family,  A.  J.  Taylor's  confreres  valued  his  friendship  and  regarded  their 
intimacy  with  him  as  a  golden  opportunity. 


Central  Quartette — 
P.  G.  VAN  VLEET 

Publisher,  Toronto. 
The  late  A.  J.  TAYLOR 

C.F.  &  P.A.,  C.M.  &  St.  P.R. 

B.  H.  BENNETT 
G.A.,  C.  &  N.W.R. 

J.  J.  ROSE 

G.A.,  Union  Pacific  Railway. 

Reading  from  left  to  right  from  top 
centre  of  circle — 
CAPTAIN  E.  KREMLIN 

Paymaster,  34th  Batt.,  C.E.F. 

DOUGALS  A.   MACARTHUR 

Toronto-Port  Hope  Sanitary  Co. 
WILLIAM  JACKSON 

Pres.,  Jackson  Mfg.  Co.,  Clinton,  Ont. 
F.  H.  TERRY 

T.A.,  G.N.R.,  Toronto. 
F.  A.  NANCEKIVELL 

Traffic  Manager,  Ford  Motor  Co. 
GEO.  BARNES 

G.A.,  N.P.R.,  Detroit,  Mich. 
L.  MACDONALD 

D.F.A.,  G.T.R.,  Toronto. 
H.  E.  WATKINS 

G.E.C.A.,  G.N.R.,  Toronto. 

C.  E.  HORNING 

D.P.A..  G.T.R.,  Toronto. 

J.   O.   GOODSELL 

A.G.P.A.,  U.P.R.,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
R.  J.  KEARNS 

New  York  Life  Company,  Toronto. 
W.  D.  WILSON 

Wilson,  Lytle,  Badgcrow  Co.,  Tor. 


Half  the  membership  of  the  the 
Red  Chalk  Fishing  and  Game  Club,  Muskoka. 


89 


BY-WATER    MAGAZINE 

Business    Getter's   Competition 
Prize   Winning   Essay 

EIGHTY  per  cent,  of  new  business  secured — after  eliminating  the  ad- 
vantageous influence  of  good  advertising  well  placed — results  not  from 
unusual  happenings  or  quasi-romantic  incidents.  It  originates  in  press- 
ing industrial  expansion  and  broad  education,  it  flows  through  modern 
channels,  and  along  those  thorny,  old-fashioned  highways  of  endeavor  such 
as  persistent,  methodical  solicitation  of  passenger  and  freight  traffic,  a  con- 
scientious interest  in  its  handling  and  disposition  after  acceptance,  and  above 
all  depends  upon  the  good  will  and  very  essential  aid  af  each  one  of  that 
many  sided  army  employed  by  the  transportation  corporations  whose  arteries 
provide  the  means  for  commercial  life's  activities. 

Assuming  that  you  desire  to  introduce  or  further  exploit  a  worthy  service 
and  route,  publicity  should  be  the  first  vital  consideration.  In  this  propa- 
ganda who  can  better  assist  you  to  reach  the  world  and  his  wife  than  the  rank 
and  file,  than  those  men  and  youths  of  high  and  low  degree  whom  you  meet 
when  you  occasionally  call  and  who,  during  your  absence,  are  always  in  im- 
mediate contact  with  buyers  and  the  stream  of  enquiring  public,  alert  and  re- 
ceptive, like  a  big  league  star  playing  close  to  the  third  sack. 

It  has  been,  let  us  suppose,  a  regrettable  necessity  that  prevented  officials 
from  organizing  the  present  desultory  practice  into  a  system  of  at  least  three 
meetings  a  year  when  separated  railway  employees  and  their  superiors  could 
meet  and  discuss  subjects  pertaining  to  the  relations  existing  between  the 
company  and  its  patrons.  At  such  anticipated  and  informal  conventions 
every  one  present  is  urged  to  express  opinions.  Traffic  matters  are  viewed 
from  different  argles,  the  solitary  agent  who  thinks  himself  and  agency  dis- 
criminated against,  learns  the  larger  reason  for  local  inconvenience,  outside 
representatives  obtain  a  "close  up"  inspection  of  the  chiefs  in  action  and  the 
plan,  as  a  fixture,  would  become  a  sound,  progressive  measure  as  well  as  a  dis- 
tinctive advantage  to  the  esprit  de  corps  of  any  transportation  company's  staff. 

Man  is  a  gregarious,  sociable  "critter",  fond  of  exchanging  "idears",  an 
impressionable,  flesh  and  blood  individual  quite  like  yourself,  who  easily 
responds  to  straightforward,  properly  timed  overtures  of  the  railway  and 
steamship  traveling  fraternity,  ever  willing  to  concede  you  an  "even  break", 
or  better,  if  merited.  Collectively  they  are  the  Central  News  Bureau  in  your 
line,  diplomatically  safeguarding  your  reasonable  expectations.  More  pros- 
pects come  to  light,  more  new  business  is  secured  and  resolved  into  renewals 
through  the  agency  of  ticket  sellers  and  traffic  men  by  the  gradual  ingratiating 
of  personality  than  via  any  of  the  other  mediums.  An  indiscreet,  pugnacious 
official  who,  for  instance,  soberly  declares  that  only  his  company's  wall  map 
embodies  all  the  virtues  invites  ridicule  and  gets  it. 

Collaborate  and  hobnob  with  the  nabob  in  the  inner  railway  or  warehouse 
sanctum  sanctorum,  and  the  next  man  down,  if  you  will:  they  deserve  that  de- 

90 


ference  and  "were  poor  once  themselves",  but  do  not  always  flock  with  the  head- 
quarters staff  and  entirely  overlook  the  other  boys,  nor  the  understudy  to  the 
traffic  manager  of  those  firms  controlling  ten  cars  per  week  or  ten  cases  a  month. 
They  see  and  hear  unthought  of  items  of  interest  and  possess  long  memories. 
Cultivate  your  recollection  of  faces  and  names,  for  to-morrow  or  next  season 
a  clerk  may  gravitate  to  "Depot  or  City  Ticket  Agent"  and  opportunity,  with 
passengers  leavirg  to  his  guidance  and  judgment  "What  route  should  we 
take"  and  it  is  to  his  address  that  advertising  points  the  finger. 

A  few  companies  endeavor  to  arrange  the  time  and  transportation  which 
enables  certain  city  ticket  agents  to  journey  over  the  main  line  of  their  property 
for  educative  reasons,  but  the  experienced  assistants  are  too  infrequently  in- 
cluded, are  seldom  sent  on  an  excursion  into  outside  territory,  and  never  attend 
a  ticket  agents'  association  meeting,  and  yet,  the  nature  of  their  duties  implies 
ability  to  promptly  and  accurately  answer  innumerable  questions  regarding 
junction  connections,  baggage  transfer,  location  of  foreign  line  depots,  dining 
and  sleeping  facilities  as  well  as  geographical  peculiarities.  Books  there  are 
that  print  some  of  this  information,  but  often  the  enquirer  departs  disapponited 
without  exact  details,  but  to  the  men  who  have  been  over  the  ground  with  eyes 
open,  it  is  decidedly  satisfying  to  be  able  to  intelligently  submit  the  facts  and 
note  how  your  statements  carry  conviction  and  impress  the  recipient.  Of  all 
people  needing  the  experience  of  travel,  the  ticketing  agent  who  directs  others 
on  their  journeys  should  be  first  to  possess  that  advantage. 

Dispensing  to  these  gentlemen  few  promises  and  religiously  observing  those 
is  a  strong  undercurrent  in  shaping  your  course.  Unfailing  attention  to  reser- 
vation requests,  prompt  news  of  the  whereabouts  of  specific  shipments,  and 
early  notification  of  upward  tariff  revisals,  &c.,  &c.,  are  assets  that  help  forge  a 
friendship  out  of  which  springs  new  business,  which  a  "fourflusher"  or  thought- 
less one  is  prone  to  overlook  after  his  final  handshake.  "O  consistency,  thou 
art  a  jewel." 

In  circles  where  the  weed  is  so  popular,  the  "eternal  cigar"  is  good-natured- 
ly accepted  only  as  a  lubricant  to  the  wheels  of  conversation,  but  in  the  name 
of  all  that  is  gloomy  and  peculiar  do  not  insult  the  intelligence  of  some  captain 
of  industry,  or  "regular  fellow",  by  flashing  on  him  the  moment  you  enter  The 
Presence,  what  seems  like  a  transparent  bribe  in  the  form  of  a  cheroot  a  few 
degrees  better  than  the  "Bartender's  Revenge".  Many  of  them  indulge  a 
weakness  for  more  delicate  fragrance  at  Half  a  Dollar  for  three  or  two.  Be- 
cause such  a  contretemps  was  studiously  avoided  by  the  writer  several  years 
ago,  a  prominent  Hamilton,  Canada,  merchant — then  partonixing  a  competi- 
tor— gave  "our  route"  a  dozen  cars  of  eastbound  California  fruit  and  explained 
why. 

Few  transportation  people  are  so  sinuous  and  adept  as  to  be  "all  things 
to  all  men"  without  "trimming"  and  loss  of  self-respect,  where  one  representa- 
tive is  quite  au  fail  with  the  powers  that  be,  another  will  make  indifferent 
headway,  but  you  may  note  in  your  log  book  that  these  observations  outline 
some  practices  which  will  retain  old  acquaintances  and  secure  a  fair  measure 
of  new  business. 

91 


92 


BELLEVILLE'S   CONTRIBUTION   TO   TRANSPORTATION 

An  exceptional  record  in  this  field  of  endeavor 

1.  W.  B.  BAMFORD,  District  Freight  Agent,  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  Toronto,  Ont. 

2.  H.  E.  BEASLEY,   General  Superintendent,   Esquimalt  &   Nainamo   Railway,   Victoria, 

B.C. 

3.  JOHN  BELL,  (the  late),  General  Counsel,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Montreal. 

4.  W.  H.  BIGGAR,  Vice-President  and  General  Counsel,  G.T.R.,  Montreal. 

5.  W.  E.  BURKE,  Assistant  Manager,  Canada  Steamship  Lines,  Toronto,  Ont. 

6.  A.  B.  CHOWN,  Traveling  Passenger  Agent,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Pittsburg. 

7.  J.  M.  COPELAND,  T.F.  &  P. A.,  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railway,  Toronto. 

R.  J.  COTTRELL,  Locomotive  Foreman,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  St.  Thomas,  Ont. 

8.  W.  P.  DEMPSEY,  T.F.  &  P. A.,  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railway,  Detroit. 

E.  DONALD,  Land  and  Tax  Commissioner,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Montreal. 

9.  W  J.  DUCKWORTH,  Superintendent  of  Construction,  G.N.W.  Telegraph  Co.,  Toronto. 
J.  H.  ELLIS,  Secretary,  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railway,  Louisville,  Ky. 

10.  W.  E.  FOSTER,  K.C.,  Solicitor  for  Ontario,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Montreal. 

11.  JOHN  A.  GRIER,   (the  late),  G.F.A.,  M.C.R.,  also  General  Manager,  Hoosac  Tunnel 

Line,   Chicago. 

12.  R.  HAY,  C.P.  &  T.A.,  Canadian  Northern  Railway,  Vancouver,  B.C. 
12.     J.  HAY,  Locomotive  Foreman,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Sarnia,  Ont. 

12.  D.  J.  HAY,  Former  Air  Brake  Inspector,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Stratford,  Ont. 

13.  E.  W.  HOLTON,  General  Passenger  Agent,  Northern  Navigation  Co.,  Sarnia,  Ont. 
R.  IVERS,   (the  late),  Locomotive  Foreman,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  London,  Ont. 
H.  R.    KELLY,    Superintendent,    Canadian    Northern    Railway,    Capreol,    Ont. 

14.  W.  H.  KENNEDY,  Master  Mechanic,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Toronto — Fighting  for  us 

in  France. 
T.  W.  R.  McRAE,  Claims  Agent,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Montreal,  Que. 

15.  R.  B.   MOODIE,   (the  late).  General  Agent,  Intercolonial  Railway,  Toronto. 

16.  F.  H.  PHIPPEN,   K.C.,  General  Counsel,  Canadian  Northern  Railway,  Toronto. 

17      GEO.  H.  POPE,  (the  late),  Right  of  Way  Commissioner,  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway. 

18.  W.   W.   POPE,  Secretary   Hydro  Commission — former  Assistant  to  General   Counsel, 

G.T.R. 
J.  P.  PRATT,  Assistant  to  General  Counsel,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Montreal. 

19.  W*  D.  ROBB,  Vice-President,  Grand  Trunk  Railway  System,  Montreal,  Que. 

20.  W.  ROBERTSON,  Former  M.S.,  G.T.R.,  Maker  of  Robertson  Cinder  Conveyor, Chicago 
T.  WATERSON,  Chief  Clerk  to  General  Counsel,  Grand  Trunk  Railway. 

The  tribute  on  the  following  page  is  inspired  by  the  charm  and  beauty  of  the  bay 
where  Belleville's  absent  sons  sailed,  skated,  fished  and  swam. 


93 


LINES   TO   QUEEN    QIJINTE 

GREEN  are  the  hills  when  far  away, 
And  Youth  in  leash  craves  Manhood's  sway 
Placid  the  waters  that  wash  the  sands, 
The  sky  is  blue  o'er  distant  lands. 
Yet  phantom  castles — springtime  dreams, 
Dissolve  like  foam  on  woodland  streams, 
As  Fancy — chastened  by  breath  of  Time, 
Reasons  in  prose  and  not  in  rhyme: 
Yearning  ceases — behold  at  home 
The  glories  pictured  by  they  who  roam. 
Rimmed  with  vesture  of  verdant  green, 
Basks  Quinte  Bay — perennial  queen: 
Matron — a  seer — she  spans  full  years 
Of  promise,  hardship,  wreckage,  tears. 
From  pre-historic  days  of  yore 
Her  scroll  is  writ  with  mystic  lore. 
O'er  her  breast  stole  birchen  craft 
Burdened  with  Redskin,  bows  and  shaft; 
Swiftly  stalking  widgeon  and  deer 
Or  Paleface  tiller  settled  near. 
Champlain  and  Franklin  sensed  her  spell, 
As  did  good  priest  with  book  and  bell. 
Soldier,  trapper  and  creaking  stage 
Have  seen  Dame  Quinte  lashed  in  rage, 
But  seldom  doth  she  portend  ill, 
Her  mood  is  tranquil,  coaxing,  still. 
Who  hath  not  felt  her  soft  caress, 
Limpid,  seductive  as  maiden's  tress, 
Who  hath  skimmed  her  foaming  crest 
With  spreading  sheet  at  her  behest, 
And  doth  not  sing  throughout  his  days 
Of  this  real  gem  amongst  the  bays. 
Ensconced  in  a  setting  of  green  and  gold, 
She  is  ever  young  to  young  and  old: 
Could  her  waters  speak  as  they  flow  along, 
"Forget  me  not"  would  be  their  song. 


94 


THE   CANADIAN    NORTHERN    RAILWAY    SYSTEM 


WITH  her  feeders  and  tributaries 
tapping  the  distant,  beautiful 
valleys  of  historic  Arcadia  and  a 
trunk  line  that  ensures  a  through  fast 
freight  service  from  ancient  Quebec — an 
ideal  gateway  for  men  who  go  down  to  the 
sea  in  ships — the  second  steel  highway  in 
Canada's  transcontinental  trio  stretches 
hundreds  of  miles  far  and  away  through 
rolling  uplands,  untouched  forests  and 
waving  wheat  fields  to  Burrard  Inlet  and 
flourishing  Vancouver,  a  busy  maritime 
mart  and  door  to  the  placid  Pacific. 

Built  or  purchased  and  gradually  as- 
sembled by  Sir  William  Mackenzie  and 
Sir  Donald  Mann,  the  capitalization  of 
the  Canadian  Northern  Railway  System, 
which  will  be  taken  over  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  has  been 
reckoned  at  approximately  $43,000  per 
mile  for  10,000  miles  of  railway  actually 
under  operation,  and  during  the  arbitra- 
tion proceedings  at  Osgoode  Hall, Toronto, 
Mr.  Pierce  Butler,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  coun- 
sel speaking  in  behalf  of  his  clients,  stated 
that  the  railway  was  now  on  a  basis  of 
$50,000,000  gross  earnings  a  year. 

Previous  to  the  declaration  of  war  the  "C.N.R."  was  financed  mainly  by 
British  capitalists  whose  intentions,  apart  from  expected  profit,  were  to  directly 
increase  the  yield  and  transportation  facilities  for  wheat  against  the  possibilities 
of  war,  having  in  mind  how  far  below  consumption  was  their  own  production 
of  the  fundamental  food. 

In  189lPthe  Manitoba  Legislature  passed  a  charter,  with  land  grants,  pro- 
viding for  the  construction  of  the  Lake  Manitoba  Railway  &  Canal  Company, 
which  was  not  taken  advantage  of  until  1896$  when  Messrs.  Mackenzie  and 
Mann  purchased  and  commenced  construction  from  Gladstone,  Manitoba,  to 
Winnipegosis,  Manitoba,  123  miles,  and  operation  was  inaugurated  January 
3rd, 1897. 

Construction  was  started  the  same  year  on  the  Manitoba  &  Southeastern 
Railway  from  Winnipeg  to  the  Great  Lakes,  and  in  November,  1898,  45 
miles  of  it  were  operated,  St.  Boniface  to  Marchand. 

The    Northern  Pacific  Railway  lines  in    Manitoba  were  acquired  in  1901, 
and  in  the  same  year  the  thin  edge  of  the  wedge  was  inserted  in  Ontario  when 

95 


SIR  WILLIAM  MACKENZIE, 

President,  Canadian  Northern 

Railway   System. 


Parry  Sound  rejoiced  over  its  first  railway 
connection  with  the  outside — a  3.3  mile 
spur  to  a  Canada  Atlantic  Railway  junc- 
tion. 

In  1911  the  track-end  had  reached  the 
foot-hills  of  the  Rockies  and  engineers 
declare  the  C.N.R.'s  low  elevation  at  the 
Yellow  Head  Pass,  and  where  its  line  later 
decends  to  the  sea  by  the  valleys  of  the 
Thompson  and  Fraser  Rivers  through  the 
Cascade  Range,  locates  the  track  only  a 
few  feet  above  tidewater  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

At  one  point  on  the  "C.N.R."  mountain 
division  the  track  is  only  4J/2  miles  from 
the  base  of  Mount  Robson — altitude 
13,068  feet — the  highest  peak  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

With  the  completion  of  the  "C.N.R." 
central  Montreal  terminal,  near  Domin- 
ion Square,  which  is  approached  by  a  3.3 
mile  double  tracked  tunnel  beneath 
Mount  Royal,  the  Directorate  will  have 
an  exceptional  advantage  in  being  able  to 
move  solid  trains  from  west  to  east  with- 
out backing  down  from  dead-end  tracks 
or  breaking  up  their  train  formation. 

The  "C.N.R."  serves  urban  centres  having  more  than  1,000  population 
containing  90%  of  the  population  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  Alberta  and  97% 
of  Saskatchewan,  the  centre  of  the  wheat  belt. 

If  the  system  should  be  extended  to  connect  Toronto  with  Hamilton  it 
would  then  have  access  to  cities  and  towns  aggregating  60%  of  the  town  dwel- 
lers of  the  entire  provinces,  which  also  produce  70%  of  their  total  manufactured 
products. 

In  1916  the  "C.N.R."  carried  132,000,000  bushels  of  grain:  if  reduced  to 
flour  and  the  manufactured  flour  which  it  transported  be  added  thereto,  the 
foodstuffs  from  territory  along  the  "C.N.R."  would  be  sufficient  to  supply  the 
British  Isles'  45,000,000  population  with  four  pounds  of  bread  each  per  week  for 
six  months.  The  "C.N.R."  should  therefore,  be  regarded,  especially  since  the 
advent  of  war,  as  an  essential  to  the  life  of  the  Empire. 

Statistics  go  to  show  that  in  the  Provinces  of  Ontario,  Quebec  and  Nova 
Scotia,  where  the  principal  Canadian  pulp  and  paper  mills  are  situated,  those 
of  the  greatest  capacity — or  53%  of  the  total  capacity — are  situated  ex- 
clusively on  "C.N.R."  lines. 

96 


SIR  DONALD  MANN, 

Vice-President,    Canadian    Northern 

Railway  System. 


For  the  year  that  ended  with  July,  1916, 
the  exports  of  paper  amounted  to  $21,680,000 
of  which  88%  went  to  the  United  States,  and 
the  total  exports  of  pulpwood,  pulp  and  paper 
for  that  year  were  valued  at  $40,865,266. 
United  States  consumers  gladly  took  87%  of 
this  immense  output,  but  the  United  King- 
dom received  only  6%. 

During  1917,  85,000,000  feet  of  British 
Columbia  lumber,  in  3,850  cars,  were  handled 
by  "C.N.R."  to  the  Prairie  Provinces  and 
Eastern  Canada.  Balsam  and  Douglas  fir, 
red  cedar,  spruce,  hemlock,  &c.,  predomin- 
ated. Silver  spruce  for  aeroplanes  came  also, 
and  as  a  result  of  the  efforts  of  the  Imperial 
Munitions  Board  the  output  of  the  latter  has 
been  recently  doubled,  the  monthly  pro- 
duction at  present  being  approximately 
1,200,000  feet. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Moore,  Secretary  of  "C.N.R.", 
in  "Railway  Nationalization  and  the  Average 
Citizen",  makes  some  clear  and  terse  com- 
parisons of  deep  interest  to  the  public 
spirited  tax-payer  anent  the  government's 
aid  given  in  cash,  land  and  guaranteed  bonds 
to  "C.N.R.",  and  subsidiary  properties,  and 
also  to  other  Canadian  railways,  especially 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  He  sets  down  that  the  "C.N.R."  received 
from  federal,  provincial  and  municipal  coffers. — 


D.  B.  HANNA, 

Third    Vice-President,   Canadian 
Northern  Railway  System. 


Land 

Cash  subsidies 

Guarantees  by  governments.  .  . 
Federal  loans. . 


Acres  $     6,555.708 

38,874.148 

211,641.140 

25,858.166 


In  rebuttal,  the  Government  Bureau  of  Railway  Statistics  tabulates — 


To  "C.P.R.",  land 

Cash  aid  to  "C.P.R." 

Loans  from  Dominion  Government  (paid  back). 


Acres  $  28,023.185 

108,920,375 

40,000,000 


The  Dominion  Government's  Board  of  Arbitrators — Sir  William  Meredith, 
Chief  Justice  Harris  and  Wallace  Nesbitt,  K.C.,— which  submitted  a  report  as 
to  the  value  of  600,000  shares  of  Canadian  Northern  Railway  common  stock, 
consumed  50  days  from  March  to  the  middle  of  May  in  hearing  the  testimony 
of  legal  counsel  and  valuation  experts,  the  proceedings  totalling  over  1,500,000 
words  of  evidence  and  costing  about  $100,000. 


97 


The  Board's  award  of  $10,800,000  for 
the  railway  stock  valuated,  exceeded  by 
$800,000  the  limit  for  same  made  by  Act 
of  Parliament,  which  was  $10,000,000. 

Each  group  of  participating  principals 
paid  its  own  costs,  but  the  Government 
bore  the  cost  of  taking  the  evidence. 

The  Dominion  Government  is  perfect- 
ing a  plan  whereby  the  "C.N.R."  will  be 
operated  as  a  corporation  under  a  board 
of  directors  to  be  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. Time  will  tell  if  this  method 
reaches  fruition. 

The  total  liabilities  being  taken  over 
by  the  Government  in  connection  with 
the  "C.N.R."  are  $438,264,377.67  and 
the  assets  sum  up  to  $528,437,885.74. 

Speaking  for  himself  and  also  voicing 
the  views  of  Sir  Donald  Mann  and  Third 
Vice-President  D.  B.  Hanna,  Sir  William 
Mackenzie  contended  that  the  "C.N.R." 
was  destined  to  be  an  essential  factor  in 
the  expansion  of  this  country  and  that  in 
the  opinion  of  the  transportation  experts 
who  had  examined  the  situation,  their 
properties  would  be  particularly  useful 
in  the  reconstruction  days  on  which  this 

land  must  soon  enter.  He  said  his  associates  had  devoted  the  best  of  their 
years  in  developing  the  system  to  the  present  state  of  efficiency  and  confidently 
relied  on  the  future  to  justify  their  work  and  estimates  of  values. 


F.  H.  PHIPPEN, 

General   Counsel,    Canadian   North- 
ern Railway  System. 


As  anticipated,  since  this  resume  was  set  in  type,  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  has  assumed 
control  of  the  Canadian  Northern  Railway  and  operation  of  the  system  will  at  once  be  undertaken  by  a  board  of 
eight  representative  gentlemen  with  a  practical  and  experienced  railroader,  Mr.  D.  B.  Hanna,  as  President,  who 
will  have  associated  with  him 

Graham  A.  Bell,  Major,  Deputy  Minister  of  Railways 

A.  J.  Mitchell,  Ottawa 

E.  R.  Wood,  Toronto,  Capitalist 

Robert  Hobson,  Hamilton,  Ironmaster 

Frank  P.  Jones,  Montreal,  Manager  Canada  Cement  Company 

A.  T.  Riley,  Winnipeg,  Financier 

C.  M.  Hamilton,  Weyburn,  Sask.,  Agriculturist 


98 


A  TENDERFOOT   IN   TEMISKAMING 

And  the  silent  places  beyond  awaiting  the  iron  horse 


River  Drivers  on  the  Montreal  River,  Temiskaming,  Northern  Ontario. 

MARKETING  the  jubilant  flag  pole  and  Christmas  tree  is  a  compara- 
tively unhackneyed  commercial  twist  not  overdone  and  if  discontented 
dwellers  in  old  Ontario,  seigneurial  Quebec  or  the  world  at  large,  like 
that  prospect  or  court  a  change  from  brick  and  asphalt  to  the  silent  places, 
opportunity  beckons  to  them  from  amidst  the  serried  ranks  of  raw  material 
swarming  over  the  hilly,  rock-ribbed  areas  of  Temagami,  the  dales  of  Temis- 
kaming and  Porcupine's  budding  principality  of  golden  promise. 

As  the  newcomer's  eyes  view  the  sea  of  tapering  masts — shorn  of  drapery 
in  winter — and  the  springtimes'  green  undergrowth  crowning  summits  and 
slopes,  which  in  that  corner  of  the  Canadian  hinterland  undoubtedly  conceal 
unconjectured  lodes  of  mineral  wealth,  his  brain  tabulates  new  and  fascinating 
impressions  respecting  this  vast  heritage  and  pregnant  land  of  the  future. 

With  the  theodolite  adjusted  for  action  beside  the  site  of  a  gateway  to  the 
proposed  Georgian  Bay  Ship  Canal,  and  shaping  a  course  North-star- 
ward  from  historic  environs  once  traversed  by  intrepid  Frenchmen,  the  Ontario 
Government's  Railway  Commission  began  in  1902  the  construction  of  a  coloni- 
zation line  from  the  City  of  North  Bay,  (lying  226  miles  above  Toronto),  to 

99 


the  region  known  as  the  "Clay  Belt"  of  Northern  Ontario.  With  the  discovery 
of  silver  on  the  "LaRose"  property  in  1903,  the  output  of  which  during  the 
subsequent  thirteen  years  amounted  to  $135,809,222  in  silver  value  from  the 
camp,  together  with  $4,000,000  from  arsenic,  cobalt  and  nickel,  the  building 
of  the  Temiskaming  &  Northern  Ontario  Railway  was  promptly  extended  until 
it  reached  253  miles  into  the  interior,  making  easily  accessible  a  restful,  inspir- 
ing panorama  of  diversified  lake  and  landscape.  Here  it  is  that  Uncle  Sam's 
sweltering  Southerners  and  their  Northern  cousins  migrate  with  the  birds  in 
ever  increasing  numbers  to  fish  the  virgin  streams,  to  sense  exhaling  aromatic 
fragrance  and  be  soothed  by  the  solitude  and  majesty  of  the  wilderness  which 
appeals  more  and  more  to  each  contemplative  one  who  would  elude  the  madding 
crowd  as  he  jogs  adown  the  irregular  pathway  of  life. 

If  the  waters  of  silent  Lake  Nipissing  could  speak  as  they  flow  along,  what 
whisperings  from  wigwam,  of  tribal  feuds  and  exploring  missionary  priests 
would  they  not  bequeath  to  posterity.  But  now,  into  this  region  of  log  cabin, 
birch  bark  and  bittern  those  great  civilizers,  the  twin  ribbons  of  steel,  have 
intruded;  sleeping  cars  mosaic  tiled  and  ornate,  traveling  via  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railway  from  Toronto,  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  from  Montreal  and  "U.S.A." 

at  Buffalo,  are  delivered  daily  to  the 
Temiskaming  &  Northern  Ontario  Railway 
and  circumventing  space,  lay  bare  to  their 
prying,  adventurous  occupants,  many  of 
the  secrets  of  nature  in  the  north. 

As  you  bowl  along  past  thicket,  lake 
and  narrow  ledge  to  the  regular  accom- 
paniment of  that  peculiar  circus  wagon 
"cluck,  cluck",  emitted  in  winter  by  the 
twelve  wheelers,  you  unconsciously 
wonder  if  it  were  mink,  otter,  lynx  or 
fox  whose  softly  falling  pads  made  the 
trail  which  bisects  the  otherwise  unruffled 
white  mantle  covering  the  frozen  surface 
yonder.  Meanwhile,  the  telltale  tracks 
of  the  early  morning  prowlers  vanish 
abruptly  where  the  waters  frozen  boundary 
gives  way  to  battalions  of  balsam,  spruce 
and  jack  pine  silently  guarding  the  ascent 
to  rising  ground.  The  view  begets  reflec- 
tion: when  casually  discussing  the  autumn 
hunt  with  a  deer  slayer  who  annually 
roams  that  region,  nimrod  complacently 
informed  me  that  he  had  left  the  train  at 
mileage  "22"  from  North  Bay,  and  before 
the  locomotive  whistled  on  a  nearby  hill 
his  first  buck  was  bagged.  At  this  junc- 
ture an  Indian  guide  from  out  the  forest 
100 


ANDREW  C.  KELLOGG, 
A  "Great  Western"  Graduate.    Dean  of 
G.T.R.  Dining  Car  Conductors,  Favor- 
ably known  to  patrons  of  the  "Cobalt 
Special." 


setting  surrounding  Lady  Evelyn  Lake  came  aboard  at  Temagami's  com- 
modious, artistically  conceived  depot  of  split  hardheads,  and  grinning 
broadly,  substantiated  the  boaster's  declaration  with  such  terseness  and 
force  that  a  group  of  globe  trotting  mine  prospectors  and  sportsmen  grew 
interested.  Rifles,  fish,  fur  and  game  laws  started  every  mother's  son  of 
them  talking,  and  the  jolly  wiseacres  continued  their  conversazione  cros- 
sing Net  Lake,  past  Rib  Lake  and  its  woodie  approaches,  and  on  to  where  Jack 
Frost  had  transferred  Bay  Lake,  Wind  Lake,  Moose  Lake  and  Red  Pine  Lakes, 
into  cubes  of  crystal  transparence.  They  did  not  desist  until  permitted  a 
glimpse  through  car  window  of  the  Montreal  River's  splashing,  rapids  tossed 
waters  at  Latchford  and  the  developing  timber  possibilities  at  this  ford,  which 
are  often  duplicated  along  the  360  miles  of  this  stream's  course. 

These  gentlemen  were  a  cosmopolitan  assemblage  recruited  from  several 
and  diverse  regions,  but  all  were  heading  towards  Lake  Temagami,  Cobalt, 
Lorrain  and  Porcupine  City's  newer,  veiled  enticements.  Gnarled  and  sea- 
soned, a  veteran  campaigner  on  "many  a  foreign  strand"  sat  silently  observant 
beside  a  sturdy  novice,  self-possessed  and  hopeful,  encased  in  flannel  shirt,  reg- 
lation  shooting  boots  laced  high  and  a  cow  boy  hat,  who  had  yet  to  know  hunger 
and  the  thrill  of  a  ' 'strike".  That  composite  character  from  the  cities,  mer- 
chant-miner-speculator evolved  from  the  silver  excitement,  was  there  with  his 
pigeon  blood  cravat  pin  and  nonchalant  demeanor,  exchanging  deductions  with 
a  facing  stranger.  Some  one  drew  cork  and  with  a  mild  libation  all  round  the 
smoker,  tongue  cords  loosed  and  a  Kentuckian  garbed  in  Mackinaw  cloth  knee 
breeches,  heavy  black  stockings  and  Jaeger  cap,  narrated  pleasantly  tales  of  the 
diggings  in  Australia,  California,  Cripple  Creek.  A  man  who  had  been  in 
Johannesburg  talked  knowingly  of  John  Hays  Hammond  and  the  conductor 
tarried  a  moment  on  his  rounds.  Now  and  then,  from  out  the  babel  you  pieced 
together,  "It  sold  this  morning  for — ",  "Commercial  arsenic",  "Rock  drills", 
"For  stealing  whiskey  I  smashed  him  on  the — •",  "Three  and  one  half  a  share, 
five  dollars  par",  and  much  more  in  the  vernacular.  They  were  encumbered 
with  the  latest,  likewise  the  most  ancient  caper  in  portmanteaux:  they  carried 
fire  arms,  hatchets,  and  snow  shoes,  coats  of  fewer  colors  than  Joseph's,  but  of 
patterns  innumerable,  and  pack  sacks  stuffed  like  the  bundles  Tony  shoulders 
when  hurrying  to  the  base  of  grim  Vesuvius.  Withal,  they  were  a  merry  and 
optimistic  company  off  to  re-discover  Champlain's  own  territory,  to  learn  that 
cobalt  is  a  pinkish  chemical  by-product  found  beside  silver,  that  single  carload 
shipments  of  silver  concentrates  mined  here  have  netted  $142,231.00,  that  the 
camp's  dividends  from  silver  and  gold  for  14  years  realized  $81,320,625,  that 
rolling  stock  of  railways  all  over  America  help  to  brighten  "T.  &  N.O."  rails, 
that  the  town  of  Cobalt  is  outlandishly  picturesque  and  unique  with  cartwheel, 
Bostonlike  thoroughfares  where  Madame  promenades  in  the  velvet  so  recently 
au  fait  on  Pall  Mall  and  Broadway,  while  an  Indian  girl  in  moccasins  stares 
across  the  divide  through  the  window  of  the  Golden  Moon  in  the  hope  of  dis- 
cerning her  lethargic  beau.  Vein  sampling  engineers,  grubstakers,  rock-worms, 
mine  captains,  prospectors  and  agents  in  coats  of  "astrachan  goose",  fur  lined 
or  skin  covered  shooting  jackets  and  everything  else  but  tarpaulins,  strut  about 

101 


and  add  to  their  kit,  each  man  jack  of  them  probably  thinking  he  has  "a  nose 
for  ore"  and  inside  information.  The  oriental  ear  pendant  also  abounds, 
gracing  the  lobes  of  sundry  vivacious  French  lassies  at  the  cinematograph: 
dog  trains  await,  Jacques  the  habitant,  in  capot,  sash  and  pipe  in  mouth  "Bon 
jeurs"  along  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  while  Poles,  Finns  and  Cockney  'arry 
do  not  deliberately  jostle  you  off  the  lumpy  little  board  walk  to  the  nearby 
excavation.  Stalwart,  brass  buttoned  Ontario  and  Dominion  police  are  every- 
where. Cobalt's  roots  spread  far  below  the  surface.  Underground  detona- 
tions indicate  that  compressed  air  drills  day  and  night  slowly  blast  a  mammoth 
sewerway  for  this  hustling  town.  Not  every  one  knows  that  beneath  the  "T. 
&  N.O.R."  highway  and  handsome  modern  station  building  the  Right  of  Way 
Mining  Company  tunnels  for  ore.  A  few  hundred  yards  beyond  and  under  the 
bottom  of  frozen  Cobalt  Lake,  over  which  the  dutiful  citizen  crosses  on  Sabbath 
and  holyday  to  Father  Forget's  cleanly,  white  painted  church,  the  Cobalt  Lake 
Mining  Company  is  extending  drives,  crosscuts  and  leads  seeking  material  that 
produces  mineral  which  pleases  magnates  and  sets  the  stock  market  operators 
by  the  ears.  $1,085,000  was  paid  to  the  Government  for  this  right.  Thus 
does  the  south  lag  behind  the  north. 

From  Lorrain's  remote  locality  comes  to  Cobalt  mines  the  compressed  air 
and  electric  current  generated  with  unique  machinery  from  the  waters  impetu- 


A   Slump   in    Cobalt   Lake.     Former   well   known   waterway   now   no   more. 

102 


ousity  at  Ragged  Chutes  on  the  Montreal  River,  at  Hound  Chute  also,  and  at 
the  Matabitchouan  River, and  not  afar  off  the  cottage  in  which  it  is  said  Doctor 
Drummond's  sympathetic  spirit  forsook  its  mortal  tabernacle,  keeps  solitary 
vigil  on  a  slope  overlooking  Kerr  Lake.  His  inimitable  habitant  patois  verse 
survives  however,  and  is  kept  green  in  memory  when  interpreted  by  the  nimble 
tongues  of  M.  Giles  or  an  Olive  Pouze.  Occasionally  grazing  the  brink  of  a 
declivity  when  touring  the  camp,  one  meets  wheeling  or  gliding  past  on  sled 
behind  good  horses,  miner's  wife  from  Montana  or  a  courier  in  shoe  packs  and 
cold  weather  rig  astride  a  sturdy,  sure-footed  pony.  Jogging  along  after  him 
the  next  is  a  native  on  a  mustang.  Similarly  mounted  a  rangy,  vigorous 
individual  clad  in  seamy  corduroys,  jacket,  ear  flaps  and  the  inevitable  "larri- 
gans"  lopes  by.  This  personage  proves  to  be  unintentionally  traveling  incog, 
as  he  is  a  big  mine  manager,  an  English  expert  doting  on  tetrahedrite  crystals, 
heading  to  town  for  a  constitutional  and  the  morning  mail. 

As  recently  as  midnight  of  August  19th,  1912,  an  undignified  and  profane 
pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  the  goddess  of  fortune  occurred  in  Temiskaming.  At 
the  stroke  of  twelve  a  ziz-zagging  procession  of  flickering  lights  born  by  all 
manner  of  men,  stretching  from  Cobalt  three  miles  to  the  famous,  now  naked 
Gillies  Timber  Limit,  broke  into  motion  at  the  double  quick.  Ahead  of  them 
were  twelve  square  miles — 4,000  acres — or  twenty  acres  of  undiagnosed  area 
of  rock  each  for  the  lucky  two  hundred  eager,  excited  prospectors  and  adven- 
turers who  might  stake,  find  ore  and  register  for  $10  at  Haileybury  first, and  thus 
perchance,  stumble  on  a  king's  ransom.  Ordinarily,  the  journey  on  steam 
coach  costs  Ten  Cents.  This  night  one  bold  spirit  chartered  a  special  train  for 
$50.00  hoping  to  outstrip  the  throng  afoot  and  horseback,  in  autos  and  on  bicy- 
cles, armed  as  they  were  with  a  Five  Dollar  mining  license  and  panting  for  place. 
Foir  an  hour  or  two  the  nervous  strain  was  intense  and  the  schemes  and  ruses 
resorted  to  for  advantage  were  numerous  and  crafty.  Sweating  relay  horses 
clattered  at  top  speed  all  night  between  the  new  diggings  and  the  district  seat, 
positions  held  in  person  or  proxy  in  the  line-up  waiting  for  dawn  reminded  one 
of  the  nocturnal  vigil  and  struggle  for  tickets  to  behold  the  late  Sir  Henry 
Irving,  while  rumor  and  conjecture  were  rife.  One  energetic  but  luckless  in- 
dividual, with  boundry  stakes  in  earth,  had  them  uprooted  and  tossed  aside  by 
a  speculator's  hireling  the  moment  he  headed  to  the  registry  office;  another 
collapsed  from  exhaustion  and  laid  prone  in  the  bush  as  the  strong  trod  over 
his  body  and  aspirations  and  still  a  third  poor  devil  lost  a  pronounced  advantage 
by  falling,  horse  and  rider,  into  a  quagmire  at  the  roadside,  and  all  because 
there  lies  side  by  side  beneath  the  earth's  surface  silver  sidewalks  and  blighted 
hopes. 

Do  not  conclude  that  the  term  "rough  diamonds"  would  fitly  describe  the 
mining  body  of  to-day  nor  opine  that  they  always  talk  gold  at  $20  the  ounce, 
assay  furnaces,  vanners  and  recording  tachometers.  Their  personnel  includes 
a  mighty  spry  collection  of  thoroughbreds  of  advanced  education  from  every- 
where. They  are  men  fond  of  horse-flesh  and  saddle;  men  who  aim  straight 
at  billiard  ball  or  bob  cat  and  a  percentage  can  coax  sweet  strains  from  piano 
or  at  odd  moments  resort  to  the  not  violent  and  refining  pleasure  of  gardening. 

103 


I  have  seldom  seen  a  gaudier  conglomeration  of  old-fashioned  bloom  than  the 
flowers  before  the  bungalow  of  the  Temiskaming  Mine.  In  their  offices  and 
apartments  several  enjoy  club  comforts  and  trophies  and  articles  of  virtu  adorn 
the  walls  of  highly  polished  logs.  They  can  ' 'diagnose  the  field"  for  a  close 
corporation  and  by  theory  and  experience  prophecy  what  may  be  found  under 
the  crust  away  east  to  Des  Joachins  (des  swish  aw),  Falls,  Lake  St.  John  and 


JACOB  LEWIS  ENGLEHART, 
Chairman,  Temiskaming  &  Northern  Ontario  Railway  Commission 

Chibougamou.  The  gentleman  who  cheerfully  volunteered,  flashlight  in  hand, 
to  pilot  the  writer  to  where  drillers  pierced  rock  at  mine  bottom,  wore  riding 
breeches,  jacket  and  English  spring  leggings  of  the  most  approved  design  and 
a  stunning  waistcoat  encircled  his  athletic  proportions.  He  proved  to  be  a 

104 


raconteur  with   reminisences  of   "Ole  Lunnon"  and   the   Riviera,  but  swore 
fealty  to  Ireland's  joyous  effervescence. 

The  legacy  of  this  untrodden  expanse  is  unlimited  productiveness  of  soil, 
waterways  and  forest.  The  solitary  explorer  with  pack  horse  and  canoe  spyed 
out  a  winding  trail  which  the  railways'  impedimenta  of  progress  has  speedily 
straightened  and  made  easy  for  the  quasi  pioneer.  The  rolling  ground  and 
gentle  slopes  in  the  vicinity  of  Haileybury  are  pleasant  to  see.  Here  the  clay 
belt  and  husbandman  replaces  rock  and  miner  and  the  view  from  this  town  and 
farmer's  mecca — which  boasts  the  unique  feature  of  a  floating  market  place — 
out  and  over  Lake  Temiskaming  and  across  to  where  the  mists  conceal  a  quaint 
French  settlement,  Villa  Marie,  is  indeed  charming.  On  learning  that  the  mis- 
sion bells  pealed  and  a  convent  dwelt  within  the  borders  of  Quebec  just  over 
that  moonlit  expanse  of  inland  sea,  I  confess  my  conception  of  interprovincial 
geography  seemed  out  of  alignment.  Englehart,  a  divisional  point,  bears  the 
name  of  the  Railway  Commission's  astute,  public  spirited  Chairman,  Jacob 
L.  Englehart,  formerly  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  who  made  his  Canadian  debut  in 
the  Petrolia  oil  belt,  and  some  forty  years  ago  supported  Commodore  Cornelius 
Vanderbilt  when  he  was  married  in  the  Tecumseh  Hotel,  London,  Canada,  to 
the  beautiful  Mrs.  Crawford  of  Baton  Rouge,  La.  Jacob  Englehart  inaug- 
urated the  system  of  greenhouses  which  flourish  in  those  leagues  of  loam  and 
clay  but  the  plants  which  predominate  in  that  "neck  of  the  woods",  however, 
are  those  that  grow  into  thousands  of  cords  of  coveted  pulpwood,  cut  in  certain 
districts  by  private  owners  and  on  reserves  with  Government  sanction.  As 
this  commodity  underlies  in  a  vital  way  the  immense  paper  and  publishing 
interests  of  America  and  Europe  the  supply,  method  of  treatment,  market  and 
duty  tax  has  become  a  burning  topic  in  factory  and  forum  both  sides  of  the  in- 
ternational boundary. 

Those  wind  tossed  forest  monarchs  and  old  pines  on  the  hill  tops  that  once 
beheld  naught  save  the  Redskin  stalking  an  hundred  animate  creatures  of  the 
wild,  will  if  spared,  witness  a  mighty  trek  northward.  The  caravan  of  the  white 
man  of  every  clime  and  craft  shall  push  past  haunts  of  black  bear,  moose  and 
trapper,  portaging  enroute  near  Cochrane  beside  Frederick  House  River.  At 
this  spot  an  incident  at  Barbers  Bay  in  the  semi-savage  days  of  the  old  trading 
posts  of  the  north  country,  has  become  a  fearsome  tradition  among  the  indians 
of  the  Abitibi.  Many  years  ago  when  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  were  ex- 
tending trading  posts  southward  from  Moose  Factory,  Frederick  Barber  with 
Indians  and  voyageurs  established  a  store  beside  a  bay  perpetuating  his  name, 
at  Frederick  House  Lake.  One  Christmas  eve  Macdougall,  a  halfbreed,  and 
two  companions  reached  the  post  to  trade  their  autumn  catch.  Together  with 
gifts  Barber  unfortunately  dispensed  rum.  When  refused  more  liquor  the 
trappers  murdered  all  hands  and  seized  the  fort.  Fearing  discovery  and  pun- 
ishment of  their  crime,  the  drunken  half-breeds  killed  every  Indian  who  came 
to  the  post  with  furs.  Growing  anxious,  several  squaws  who  had  not  accom- 
panied their  braves  on  the  midwinter  journey,  snow-shoed  to  Barbers  Bay  and 
were  imprisoned  by  Macdougall.  One  woman  escaped  and  organized  an  aveng- 
ing party  which  did  not  arrive  in  time  to  prevent  the  massacre  of  the  remaining 

105 


Over  the  Trail  where  the  Railways  are  not 


squaws  nor  the  flight  of  the  half- 
breed  scoundrels.  Then  began  a 
long  chase  down  the  Black  and 
Abitibi  Rivers.  Macdougall  who 
was  tobagganing  loot  from  the 
fort,  was  nearly  overtaken  in 
camp.  He  saw  the  trackers  com- 
ing and  started  across  Lake 
Abitibi,  disappearing  during  a 
brief  snow  storm  and  was  never 
seen  after.  The  Indians  gave  evil 
spirits  the  credit  when  he  vanished 
and  they  suppose  the  half-breed's 
ghost  still  lingers  over  the  lakes. 

It  is  across  these  trackless 
fastnesses,  under  whispering 
Northern  Lights,  that  the  newest 
national  highway,  the  National 
Trans-continental  &  Grand  Trunk 
Pacific  Systems,  dreamt  of  by  the 
patriot  the  Right  Honorable  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier,  gradually 
assumed  reality  and  now  hasten 
communication  westward  with 
tidings  from  the  east. 

Yea,  the  crusade  will  not 
cease  until  little  old  Ontario  is 
linked  with  the  Aurora  Borealis 
and  the  venturesome  commoner 
at  Frisco,  New  Orleans  and 
Toronto  may  side  step  the  soaring 
bovine  market,  and  after  an  all- 


rail  journey,  harpoon  his  own  walrus  meat  in  James  and  Hudson's  Bays. 


MONSIEUR  WILLIAM  P.   DUPEROW 

General  Passenger  Agent,  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  and  Canadian  Government  Railways 

Text  of  an  address  presented  to  him  at  Toronto  on  the  occasion  of  his  transfer 
May,  1910,  to  "Grand  Trunk  Pacific"  service  at  Vancouver,  B.C. 

MR.  GLADSTONE  declared  "A  book  that  will   move  many  people  of 
different  temperaments,  and  different  degrees  of  intelligence,  must  have 
power."    So  it  is  with  the  individual:  and  because  your  friends  in  the 
complacent  East  think  you  undoubtedly  possess  the  magnetic  current  and 
a  warm  heart,  we  are  loth  to  separate  from  so  much  animated  sunshine. 

Colleagues,   small  and    great,    recount    your    generosity  and   regret    de- 
parture, while  those  distressed   mortals  who  knew    your    kindly   assistance 

106 


pour  full  the  measure  of 
credit. 

If  the  public,  and  this  gal- 
axy of  happy-go-lucky  rail- 
roaders who  foregather  have 
imperfectly  recited  how  they 
will  miss  you  at  quilting  bees, 
it  is  not  because  they  are 
hostile,  but  they  lack  Chan- 
tecler's  brazen  crow. 

As  a  scout  of  broad  gauge 
calibre,  tracking  business  to 
its  lair,  reconnoitering  In- 
dian bands  or  negotiating 
with  sinner,  saint  and  suffra- 
gette, you  have  been  all 
things  to  all  men,  and  along 
the  tortuous  trail  they  do  say 
your  sang  froid,  ingratiating 
manner  and  elegance  of  dic- 
tion ranked  not  as  common 
garden  varieties. 

The  King's  currency,  be- 
stowed  in  embarrassing 
quantities,  is  apt  to  jolt 
one's  system  into  repudiat- 
ing labor's  noble  avocations; 
hence  the  modest  propor- 
tions of  this  accompanying 
bag  of  francs,  which  your 
confreres — -elderly,  youthful, 
handsome  -  -  unhesitatingly 
tender  you  with  earnest  pro- 
tests of  regard. 

You  are  now  at  the  Hemis- 
phere's portal,  where  you 
can,  without  obstruction, 
behold  the  Fates  unfolding 
your  future;  where  old  Sol, 
with  blushing  countenance, 
sinks  in  the  "Pacific"  without 


WILLIAM  P.  DUPEROW, 

Passenger    Agent,    Grand  Trunk  Pacific  and 
Railways,  Winnipeg,  Man. 


General 

Canadian  Government 


his  bathing  suit,  and  all  supplicate  you  not  to 
trip  o'er  the  guy  ropes  when  gazing  at  comets  with  the  astronomers. 

We  trust  the  doors  to  preferment,  now  open,  will  disclose  to  you  and  yours 
the  uneven  highway  of  life  growing  smoother  and  wider,  and  may  the  blessing 
of  good  health  crown  all. 

The  Committee:— R.  S.  Lewis,  L.V.R.;  A.  J.  Taylor,  C.  M.  &  St.P.R.; 
J.  J.  Rose,  C.P.R.;  J.  A.  Richardson,  Wabash  Railroad;  B.  H.  Bennett,  C.  & 
N.W.R.;  C.  E.  Horning,  G.T.R. 

107 


W.  J.   MOFFATT 


JOHN  J.   ROSE 


Passport  Photograph  Collection  loaned  by 

W.  J.  MOFFATT City  Passenger  Agent,  G.T.R Toronto 

JOHN  J.  ROSE General  Agent,  Union  Pacific  Railway.  .  .  .Toronto 

Read  from  left  to  right  — 

W.  ADAMSON T.F.A.,  N.P.R Toronto,  Ont. 

S.  A.  BAKER G.A.,  C.G.W.R..  .  , Toronto,  Ont. 

B.  H.  BENNETT G.A.,  C.  &  N.W.R Toronto,  Ont. 

F.  BOWMAN C.F.A.,  C.P.R Hamilton,  Ont. 

J.  J.  BRIGNALL T.P.A.,  Robert  Reford  Co Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  H.  CALLAHAN Passenger  Conductor,  G.T.R. . Goderich,  Ont. 

F.  R.  CALDWELL Manager,  Cluett,  Peabody  Co Toronto,  Ont. 

S.  CROSSLEY Dining  Car  Conductor,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

W.  CORBETT T.P.A.,  C.P.R Toronto,  Ont. 

E.  J.  DOWNEY Inspector,  C.  C.  S.  Bureau Toronto,  Ont. 

G.  EASSON T.F.A.,  C.N.R Toronto,  Ont. 

T.  EVANS G.A.,  M.C.R London,  Ont. 

F.  C.  FOY .C.P.A.,  N.Y.C.  &  H.R.R Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  GRAY  (late) Agent,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

W.  A.  GRAY C.F.A.,  D.L.  &  W.R Toronto,  Ont. 

W.  GRUNDY Depot,  T.A.,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

M.  M.  HAGARTY Advertising  Department,  C.P.R Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  C.  HEATON Manager,  Time  Table  Distribution'Co.  .  .  .Toronto,  Ont. 

L.  HOWE Traffic  Department,  Board  of  Trade Toronto,  Ont. 

D.  M.  JOHNSON Agent,  G.T.R Preston,  Ont. 

R.  J.  KEARNS New  York  Life Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  W.  McGuiRE T.F.A.,  C.P.R Hamilton,  Ont. 

S.  J.  MURPHY T.P.A.,  Canada  S.S.  Lines Toronto,  Ont. 

F.  A.  NANCEKIVELL Traffic  Manager,  Ford  Motor  Co Ford,  Ont. 

A.  E.  PERNFUSS C.P.  &  T.A.,  G.T.R Kitchener,  Ont. 

T.  SYMINGTON Superintendent,  Shedden  Co Toronto,  Ont. 

H.  E.  WATKINS G.E.C.A.,  G.N.R Toronto,  Ont. 

G.  C.  WILSON .T.F.A.,  Soo  Line Buffalo,  N.Y. 

D.  H.  WAY .' Agent,  T.  &  N.O.R Cobalt,  Ont. 

H.  E.  UTTLEY Assistant  Traffic  Manager,  Imperial  Oil  Co  .  Toronto,  Ont. 


109 


Passport  Photograph  Collection  loaned  by  Messrs  W.  J.  Moffatt  and  J.  J.  Rose. 

Read  from  left  to  right  — 

A.  M.  ADAMS Agent,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

\\.  J.  BURR S.P.A.,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

F.  R.  CLARKE S.F.A.,  G.T.R.,  Import  Department Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  M.  COPELAND T.F.  &  P.A.,  C.  &  N.W.R Toronto,  Ont. 

E.  S.  DAVIES Advertising  Manager,  C.N.R Toronto,  Ont. 

H.  T.  DUFFY D.P.A.,  Soo  Line Duluth,  Minn. 

W.  FULTON Assistant  Dist.  Passenger  Agent,  C.P.R.  .  .Toronto,  Ont. 

R.  A.  GILL T.P.A.,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

L.  L.  GRABILL General  Baggage  Agent,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

T.  J.  HENNESSY. T.F. A.,  L.V.R. Chicago,  111. 

F.  V.  HIGGINBOTTOM C.P.  &  T.A.,  C.N.R .  .  .Toronto,  Ont. 

C.  E.  HILLIKER D.F.  &  P. A.,  C.M.  &  St.  P.R Des  Moines,  la. 

H.  B.  HOLLAWAY C.A.,  Adams  Express  Co Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  JOLLY S.F.A.,  C.P.R Toronto,  Ont. 

S.  R.  JOYCE T.P.A.,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

C.  M.  KNOWLES ..C.T.A.,  N.Y.C.  &  H.R.R , Toronto,  Ont. 

R.  A.  LENNOX S.F.A.,  G.T.R. Toronto,  Ont. 

A.  J.  LETCH Inspector,  C.C.S.  Bureau Toronto,  Ont. 

C.  H.  LOWN Traffic  Mgr.,  Imperial  Oil  Co Toronto,  Ont. 

D.  A.  McCALL T.F. A.,  C.P.R Toronto,  Ont. 

R.  McRAE Accountant,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

R.  G.  McCRAW Inspector,  C.F.  Association Toronto,  Ont. 

M.  MACDONALD Assistant  Inspector  of  Weighing,  G.T.R.  .  .Toronto,  Ont. 

W.  MclLROY C.C.,  D.P.A.,  C.P.R Toronto,  Ont. 

T.  MULLINS C.P.A.,  C.P.R Toronto,  Ont. 

L.  R.  MULHOLLAND Kent,  McLean  Co Winnipeg,  Man. 

G.  G.  O'FLAHERTY C.  C.,  Sup't  Transportation,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

W.  H.  POLLEY C.T.A.,  C.P.R Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  H.  ROBERTS C.C.,  C.T.A.,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

W.  J.  RYAN , Inspector  of  Trade-marks. Toronto,  Ont. 

•C.  P.  SARGENT.  .  . T.P.A.,  White  Star  Line Toronto,  Ont. 

H.  SCOTT T.C.,  C.O.,  G.T.R Toronto,  Ont. 

F.  H.  TERRY '.  .  .  .  .T.A.,  G.N.R.  .  ,  .  . Toronto,  Ont. 

G.  M.  THOMAS T.A.,  Canadian  Government  Railways.  .  .  .Toronto,  Ont. 

E.  F.  WALKER  . Manager,  Old  Country  Tours Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  A.  YORICK C.F.  &  P. A.,  C.B.  &  Q.R Toronto,  Ont. 

Ill 


THOSE   UNDIGNIFIED   BOX  CARS 

Some  methods  of  the  men  who  control  their  movements 

WHEN    Mademoiselle  Susanna  Vere   de  Vere,  haughty  and  capricious, 
talcumed  and  beflounced,   rides   east   at    10:00   a.m.,   ensconsced   in 
green  plushed  parlor  car  comfort,  think  you  she  recognizes  as  she  rolls 
along,  the  significance  of  the  irregular  hedge  that  flanks  for  miles  her  chosen 
pathway?     Can  she  see  in  that  jagged  sky  line  of  uneven  box  car  roofs,  so  un- 
like the  matched  uniformity  of  the  coral  beads   in   her   necklace — the   source 
of  the  revenue  which  purchased  the  ornament?     Probably  not.     Does  Oliver 
Opulence  across   the  isle,  with   fattening  jowls  and  the  latest  periodical,  at- 
tribute his  golfing  privileges  and  bank   balance   to   the   agency    of   the  lowly 
freight  car?     No,  not  in  the  fullest  measure. 

The  routine  duties  of  John  Jones  Limited  in  to-day's  strenuous  commercial 
struggle  are  based  entirely  on  what  freight  service  has  done  or  will  accomplish 
for  them,  and  during  conferences  with  their  purchasing  and  traffic  assistants, 
concrete  equipment  needs  are  dealt  with  daily  but  the  vital  usefulness  of  each 
empty  car  as  a  retainer  and  carrier  are  thought  of  only  in  an  abstract  way,  yet 
they  are  as  essential  as  the  "G.T.R."  or  three  daily  meals.  Not  until  such 
time  as  the  advent  of  an  industrial  calamity  that  will  destroy  them  all,  leaving 
coal  man,  merchant  and  bacon  baron  stranded  high  and  dry,  will  shippers 
unanimously  appreciate  their  individual  worth,  and  not  until  then  will  cease 
the  desire  of  corporate  interests  to  haul  their  valuable  loads  along  this  or  that 
favored  highway  of  steel.  Not  a  pulley  in  manufacture  could  turn  without 
their  direct  aid,  meagre  would  be  the  housewives'  meals  and  pelts  again  be 
their  children's  portion  if  the  wheels  refused  to  whirr:  then  indeed,  would 
Mademoiselle  Susanna  Vere  de  Vere  understand  the  sudden  death  of  Pullman 
palaces  from  commercial  paralysis. 

A  tortuous  string  of  seventy  freight  cars  in  motion  is  not  what  you  would 
designate  as  a  "harmonious  whole"  in  appearance.  They  remind  you  of  a 
herd  of  elephants  with  baggy  pants  traveling  trunk  to  tail,  nor  do  these  incon- 
gruous, ill-at-ease  assortments  of  traffic  proletariat  pick  their  company.  The 
tall  and  the  short,  the  lame,  the  halt  and  the  blind  they  have  always  with  them, 
and  if  a  trig,  shiny  aristocrat  once,  costing  approximately  $1,200  to  $1,500, 
(but  to-day  twice  as  much)  that  should  be  on  his  owner's  tracks,  strays  into 
line  with  this  perambulating  Coxey's  Army  he  soon  gets  the  spots  knocked  off 
him,  like  a  "rookie"  enlisted  with  the  regulars.  They  all  receive  awful  treat- 
ment, they  are  side  tracked,  snubbed  and  roughly  handled  and  though  doctored, 
patched,  likewise  overburdened,  they  return  more  good  for  evil  by  feeding  mice 
and  men  and  machinery  than  any  other  medium.  The  funniest  feature  about 
these  democratic  go-betweens  is  that  a  loose  jointed,  squatty  old  party,  rock- 
ing from  side  to  side  with  the  load  in  his  protruding  stomach  and  hardly  able 
to  keep  step  with  the  tribe,  may  have  his  "innards"  stuffed  with  silks  and 
satins  to  bedeck  some  slavish  goddess  of  fashion  who  never  appreciates  what 
ship  brought  the  feathers  and  finery  to  port — and  such  is  human  nature. 

112 


However,  the  officials  of  every  railroad  company  from  the  president,  traffic 
manager  and  "G.F.A.",  down  the  ladder  to  the  journal  oilers,  make  recom- 
pense, court  the  freight  cars  and  strive  mightily  for  the  privilege  of  transport- 
ing their  variegated  contents  and  these  are  the  men  who  make  them  make  mil- 
lions. It  is  a  game  with  far  reaching  ramifications,  a  contest  of  competitors 
where  brains  and  dispatch,  service,  sentiment  and  cold  figures  diversify  the  play. 
Some  times  it  is  as  uncertain  and  exciting  as  draw  poker  with  a  brazen  bluff 
cropping  up,  but  the  line  that  can  deliver  the  goods  usually  scores  and  gathers 
in  the  ducats.  The  nets  are  out  every  hour  of  the  twenty-four  and  they  are 
out  at  every  important  geographical  centre  on  the  continent,  making  the  sport 
in  variety  and  complexion,  more  devoid  of  monotony  than  most  mundane 
pursuits. 

Traffic  men  seek  every  commodity  from  a  carload  of  lemonade  straws  to 
a  shipment  of  zinc  dust  from  Japan  for  the  Porcupine  Mines,  they  talk  on  every 
topic  from  tunnel  clearances  to  the  effect  of  the  Budget,  and  have  interviewed 
specimens  of  the  genus  homo  as  yet  uncharted  by  the  phrenologists.  They 
study  tact  and  diplomacy,  but  few  have  equalled  the  art  of  a  Manitoba  farmer 
whom  it  has  been  said,  kept  himself  in  coal  for  the  winter  by  making  faces  at 
the  passing  "C.P.R."  firemen  and  engineers.  Customers'  wishes,  siding  accom- 
modation, enclosures,  cartage,  part  lots,  classification,  temperature,  icing  and 
a  thousand  other  conditions  influence  the  movement.  Among  freight  men 
resourcefulness  is  an  ever  present  adjunct  in  devising  ways  and  means  to  enlist 
adherence,  placate  the  public,  overcome  delay  and  get  around  an  obstacle, 
recalling  the  expedient  of  a  new  shedman  who  was  puzzled  as  to  how  he  could 
load  in  the  "way"  car  a  piece  of  crated  machinery  too  large  for  the  door.  He 
resorted  to  the  alternative  of  removing  the  casing,  then  easily  transferring  the 
unwieldly  consignment  inside  and  after  recrating,  left  the  later  problem  to  the 
man  who  would  deliver  the  goods. 

"Work  well  begun  is  half  done"  saith  the  old  saw,  and  the  sage  was  right. 
Starting  on  a  few  calls  some  pleasant  morning  with  the  outside  atmosphere 
exhilarating,  if  your  initial  visit  happens  on  one  of  those  considerate,  business 
gentlemen  who  can  devote  three  to  thirty  minutes  of  his  time  to  your  mission, 
and  concluding  the  X.Y.Z.  road  might  be  worse,  promises  a  share  of  the  traffic 
he  has  offering,  you  usually  approach  the  balance  of  the  day's  duties  with 
optimism.  Experiences  multiply,  but  this  feeling  will  probably  carry  you  past 
the  resentful  individual  who  holds  a  little  stock  of  your  Company  and  refuses 
business  because  his  security  is  temporarily  dropping  and  it  will  likewise  help 
to  cement  acquaintance  with  the  cautious  man  who  would  like  to  but  fears  his 
couple  of  cars  would  be  held  up  or  lost  should  Canada  and  the  United  States 
drift  into  war.  Emboldened  to  continue  the  good  work,  you  harken  to  the 
complaints  of  one  of  your  local  agents,  both  officious  and  secretive — who  sends 
all  his  correspondence  in  under  separate  cover  and  wonders  why  it  don't  receive 
prompt  attention  when  the  chief  is  away.  If  diminuitive  this  representative 
might  become  a  detriment  and  antagonize  trade  and  his  running  mate  is  the 
agent  appointed  by  the  operating  department  who  proves  a  thorn  in  the  flesh 
of  the  Division  Freight  Agent  by  snarling,  rat-terrier,  dictatorial  demeanor 

113 


I 

until  the  shipping  body  in  unanimous  resolution  declare  "that  agent  cannot 
leave  quick  enough  to  suit  me".  Hot  on  the  heels  of  the  visiting  "D.F.A.", 
who  is  supposed  by  many  to  always  have  an  easy  time,  bobs  up  an  obsequious 
Hebrew  at  the  period  of  great  car  shortage,  with  a  tale  of  woe  about  a  man  com- 
ing upon  him  just  as  he  was  loading  a  few  bales  and  shouting  "Here,  what  are 
you  doing  with  my  car?"  It  developed  that  the  blusterer  could  not  procure 
a  car  himself  and  bethought  him  to  pounce  on  the  inoffensive  rag  man  and  pur- 
loin the  coveted  empty  box  car. 

Fortified  by  an  agreement  with  an  anxious  fresh  fruit  buyer,  whereby  he 
is  guaranteed  forty  refrigerator  cars  in  return  for  their  haul  homeward  a  few 
hundred  miles,  a  call  is  made  on  a  canned  salmon  distributor.  This  is  his 
acknowledgment  to  your  opening  salute.  "Who  told  you  I  had  a  car  of 
salmon?  I  have  no  salmon  and  am  not  thinking  of  fish  just  now — this  isn't 
Friday".  However,  he  proved  amenable  to  reason  and  issued  a  routing  order. 

A  Grand  Trunk  Railway  commercial  agent  related  to  me  recently  the 
following  outline  of  a  verbal  castigation  administered  to  himself  by  a  mourner 
who  must  have  been  wearing  indigo  spectacles:  "The  idea  of  giving  business 
to  'U.M.C.'  lines,  we'll  have  no  truck  or  trade  with  them.  It  is  very  indiscreet 
of  you  to  dare  to  try;  when  you  can  compete  on  an  equal  basis  with  the  'C.P.R.' 
then  come  in".  A  well  intentioned,  but  premature  overture  earned  one  young 
general  agent,  new  to  his  territory,  an  undeserved  rebuke  in  response  to  his 
civil  enquiries:  "Well,  I  guess  I  hav'nt  anything  to  say  to  you  to-day". 

"I  came  in  primarily  to  ask  you  to  take  luncheon  with  me,  would  you 
join  me  at  one  o'clock?" 

"No,  I  had  my  lunch  at  the  proper  hour"  came  the  quick  rejoinder. 
Fortunately,  the  balance  of  the  day  was  spent  among  "white  men"  of  whom 
there  are  95  per  cent,  naturally  inclined  to  transact  business  with  reason  and 
decency,  and  their  broad  guage  tendency  seems  to  expand  in  proportion  to  the 
magnitude  and  responsibility  of  their  undertakings. 

Another  gentleman  occasioned  a  good  deal  of  laughter  telling  on  himself 
the  story  of  taking  his  new  chief  on  an  introductory  tour  and  being  embarrassed 
to  learn  that  the  first  manufacturer  they  called  on  had  been  dead  for  a  year, 
and  the  second  one,  whom  our  friend  knew  to  some  extent,  asking  him  what 
his  name  was.  It  takes  time  to  talk  away  or  live  down  these  little  incidents. 
Now  and  then  a  modest  shipper  with  about  one  car  a  year  traveling  in  your 
direction,  will  unblushingly  suggest  that  he  be  loaned  one  of  your  annual  passes 
for  a  little  trip  down  to  New  York,  and  I  recall  hearing  of  a  wallet  of  transporta- 
tion, in  the  wrong  hands,  being  lost  in  the  railway  yards  near  Rochester. 

A  number  of  the  boys  remember  certain  shippers  who  have  had  an  insati- 
able longing  for  some  substantial  token  in  reciprocity  for  the  traffic  they  could 
control,  with  a  leaning  towards  a  variety  of  household  furnishings  and  what- 
nots. 

Patronage  lists  and  their  influence,  if  operative  the  wrong  way,  are  often 
the  invention  of  the  evil  one  and  nullify  the  efforts  of  a  conscientious  worker, 
otherwise  in  good  standing  with  all  parties.  One  day  Billy  A ,  General 

114 


Freight  Agent  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  called  with  a  traveling  repre- 
sentative on  a  certain  undesignated  Canadian  biscuit  factory:  out  came  the  list 
with  the  statement  of  the  egregious  young  manager  that  "Your  road  is  not  using 
our  product  on  its  diners." 

"Well,"  promptly  responded  the  truthful  William,  "It  may  be  they  are 
not  good  enough". 

To  elaborate  further,  a  contractor  erecting  a  building  in  a  distant  city  for 
a  firm  doing  a  large  outfitting  and  general  selling  business,  routed  twelve  car- 
loads of  structural  steel  that  he  required,  via  the  "P.D.Q.R."  A  wide  awake, 
aggressive  competitor  coveted  the  haul  of  the  material  and  meant  to  have  it. 
They  promptly  placed  an  $80,000  order  for  hotel  requisites  with  the  outfitting 
firm  and  the  latter,  feeling  the  pressure  where  it  was  intended  to  be  felt, 
capitulated,  assuaged  the  contractor's  rising  ire  in  a  monetary  but  lesser  degree, 
which,  of  course,  jilted  the  expectations  of  the  "P.D.Q.R." 

A  competing  line  with  heavy  purchasing  appropriations  has  been  known 
to  often  frustrate  genuine  tonnage  hopes  by  wiring  that  the  name  of  a  shipper 
interested  in  a  transaction,  be  removed  from  their  patronage  lists  unless  he  im- 
mediately saw  the  error  of  his  ways  and  banished  consideration  for  a  rival  route 
or  an  M.P.,  in  Victoria,  B.C.,  we'll  say,  may  exert  some  influence  he  may  have 
and  busy  himself  by  telegraphing  to  forward  specific  public  works  supplies 
from  the  east  this  way  or  that. 

The  staff  of  a  district  freight  department  may  do  considerable  preparatory 
work  regarding,  for  instance,  the  movement  of  Australian  and  New  Zealand 
wool  for  Europe  to  find  their  plans  upset  by  a  necessary  war-time  embargo 
affecting  the  transport  of  sheep  skins  and  crossbred  wool  through  this  port  or 
that  country. 

The  bete  noir  of  all  railroad  men  is  the  shifty,  unprincipled  person  who 
deceives  you  with  a  misleading  yarn  and  means  to  do  something  else.  A  sample 
of  this  method  of  operating  is  outlined  in  the  case  following,  and  concerns  a 
carload  of  pianos  going  from  an  Ontario  town  to  Vancouver,  B.C.  Knowing  his 
man,  the  consignee  had  telegraphed  and  also  written  the  shippers  "Route  our 
car  now  loading  'N.C.O.  &  B.R.R.':  under  no  circumstances  deviate,  pay  no 
attention  to  other  instructions,  this  is  final."  To  dull  the  watchfulness  of  the 
interested  railways,  Ananias  declared  the  shipment  would  be  held  pending 
the  arrival  from  elsewhere  of  an  enclosure  of  four  pianos,  meanwhile  laboring 
secretly  to  dispatch  the  complete  shipment  in  the  interim  contrary  to  instruc- 
tions. Temporarily  balked  in  his  fell  purpose,  to  disarm  suspicion  when  inter- 
rogated, he  actually  ordered  placed  on  his  siding  a  suitable  car  as  a  screen  or 
camouflage,  but  pursued  his  original  plan.  Not  until  repeatedly  disciplined 
by  the  head  office  did  this  factory  manager  desist  and  finally  unload  the  for- 
bidden car  and  obey  orders.  Such  an  employee  is  a  stumbling  block  to  pro- 
gressive business. 

Disappointments  and  neck  and  neck  finishes  are  frequent,  but  variety  is 
the  spice  and  fascinating  magnet  in  railroading  life  and  when  shrewd  manufac- 
turers repudiate  narrowness  by  distributing  the  plums  among  a  number,  "We 

115 


tfell  on  their  necks  with  loud  cries",  as  handsome 
Jack  McGuire  of  the  "C.P.R."  would  say.  These 
incidents  are  reminiscent  of  a  whiskey  traveler 
who  alleges  he  interviewed  at  Chicago  the  super- 
intendent of  dining  cars  for  a  well  known  railroad. 
To  quote  his  own  words  "I  paid  proper  atten- 
tion to  my  personal  appearance,  wore  my  Persian 
lamb-skin  coat  and  anticipated  an  order".  Con- 
trary to  expectations,  however,  the  interview  fell 
flat,  no  contract  was  made  and  for  years  after, 
this  crestfallen  liquor  man  went  out  of  his  way  to 
divert  his  company's  shipments  away  from  that 
line  via  other  channels,  to  the  discomfiture  of  rail- 
•  ^  way  men  in  no  way  responsible  and  notwithstand- 

ing the  fact  that  the  offending  Dining  Car  Superin- 
tendent stoutly  contended  it  was  not  his  road 
but  another  that  was  unappreciative  or  stocked 
with  rye.  Speaking  of  the  commissariat  depart- 

1  ^^^t&     ment,   George   Tootle,  the   widely  known  dining 

^^^^^B       JV       car  waiter  on  the  G.T.R.'s  famous   International 

Jjj  ^^f^S  BHBr          Limited   train,   who   thinks  lunch  counters  breed 

9Rd    ^^r  nervousness    and    indigestion,    relates    observing 

^^^^  at  Chicago  the  following: — 

A  "hayseedy"  looking  man   with    field   mice 

GEORGE  TOOTLE  jumping    out    of   his  whiskers,  walked   up  to  the 

lunch  counter,  seated  himself  on  a   stool,    placed 

his  bright-colored  carpet  bag  on  the  next  stool  and  partook  of  a  hearty  lunch. 
He  passed  the  young  man  a  $1  bill  to  take  out  the  price  of  his  lunch,  50 
cents,  and  was  surprised  when  the  youth  said:  "Not  any  change,  sir;  your 
carpet  bag  occupied  a  seat,  and  we  must  collect  for  that." 

The  old  man  looked  dazed  for  a  second  only,  and  then  replied : 
"All  right,  my  boy",  and  opening  the  bag,  exclaimed,  "Old  carpet  bag,  I 
have  paid  for  your  lunch  and  you  shall  have  it." 

Quicker  than  a  flash  he  threw  in  a  mince  pie,  a  plate  of  doughnuts  and  sev- 
eral sandwiches,  and  departed  amid  the  shouts  of  everyone  in  the  station. 

One  does  not  mind  unintentionally  stumbling  on  a  hasty  eruption  in  temper 
of  a  decent  chap  who  has  just  found  five  of  his  letters  opened  by  intent  or  on 
the  part  of  a  careless  firm  with  a  similar  name,  but  we  would  rather  not  be 
granted  an  audience  with  an  apple  exporter  who  fathers  four  hundred  barrels 
of  fruit  lying  on  the  dock  at  Halifax  ready  for  a  ship's  hold  at  the  psycholog- 
cal  moment  when  an  inspector  condemns  the  lot  because  the  centres  are  filled 
with  undersized  apples. 

Tenacity  of  purpose  and  "Never  say  die" — which  compel  results — are 
w^ell  exemplified  by  a  happening  that  came  to  my  notice  some  years  ago, 
involving  two  cars  of  shoes  which  were  routed  and  definitely  promised  to  one 

116 


trans-continental  line.  A  rival  corporation  sent  a  city  solicitor  after  them 
without  securing  the  footwear.  The  city  freight  agent  then  essayed  the  task 
with  like  success.  Undaunted  the  "D.F.A."  was  the  next  to  try,  but  the 
shipper  remaining  firm  stuck  to  his  guns  when  the  fourth  application  was 
made  in  the  person  of  the  freight  traffic  manager.  The  news  spread  and  on 
Wednesday  evening  of  that  week,  when  the  gentleman  who  shewed  such  valor 
in  defending  his  citadel  of  shoe  leather,  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  silent 
prayers  of  the  party  of  the  first  part,  called  at  the  president's  residence  to  visit 
his  daughter,  the  denouement  hung  fire  no  longer.  A  word,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances from  the  high  official  proved  sufficient  and  the  loser  then  under- 
stood the  quotation,  "An  idol  but  with  feet  of  clay." 

An  active  traveling  agent  and  irresistible  business  getter  told  me  once 
of  a  prominent  London  firm  promising  him  a  carload  if  he  would  remain  absent 
for  six  months,  of  another  who  suggested  "Sell  some  goods  for  us  and  we  will 
favor  your  route,"  while  the  third — an  old  'Q'  employee  who  claimed  the 
'Q'  was  a  large  family — looking  at  his  watch,  said  "Wait  twenty  minutes." 
Waiting  twenty  minutes  is  a  nerve-racking  ordeal  that  also  affects  a  gentle- 
man's prestige  and  a  better  method  of  procedure  would  be  to  pre-arrange  a 
meeting  out  of  deference  to  the  demands  on  busy  people's  time.  It  is  awkward, 
after  traveling  some  distance  for  the  purpose,  to  find  on  meeting  the  member 
of  Messrs.  Frett  &  Growl  Limited,  that  he  will  not  meet  your  eye,  will  not 
shew  signs  of  animation,  but  with  head  down  apparently  saving  his  breath 
for  a  long  distance  race,  terminates  the  interview  in  melancholy  with  "No!" 

There  was  a  traffic  official  in  an  eastern  metropolis  some  years  ago,  repre- 
senting a  fine  railroad  but  kept  in  the  chair  by  other  people's  financial  power, 
who  was  notorious  for  that  stealthy,  furtive  habit  of  fumbling  with  his  papers 
without  looking  up,  as  though  fearful  his  eyes  would  convict  him  of  his  sins 
against  men. 

In  the  category  of  queer  ones  could  be  listed  the  eccentric  who  accosted 
a  friend  of  mine,  now  doing  trustworthy  executive  work  for  the  government 
railways,  with  "What,  you  here  again?" 

"Just  for  three  minutes,  Sir,  to  place  a  routing  order!"  "You  won't  be 
here  a  minute,  I'm  too  busy.  I  can't  be  bothered  by  you  and  your  routing 
order;  it  isn't  worth  the  paper  it  is  written  on."  With  people  like  this 
unmuzzled  and  at  large,  can  you  wonder  at  the  increase  in  crime. 

Another  good  acquaintance  who  was  invited  to  an  inner  office  to  unburden 
his  mind  and  concisely  recited  the  nature  of  his  business  without  molestation, 
was  dumbfounded  when  finished  to  observe  the  creature  before  him,  without 
parley,  touch  a  buzzer,  summon  a  servitor  and  request  him  to  "Shew  this 
gentleman  out."  What  would  you  rather  do  than  live  with  him?  Some  men's 
physical  boundaries  and  narrow-minded  outlook  are  so  small  and  contempt- 
ible that  if  a  mosquito  laid  out  a  nine  hole  golf  course  on  their  torso  he  would 
be  crowded  for  room. 

A  decade  or  so  ago  there  dwelt  in  a  town  an  hour's  ride  east  of  Toronto, 
an  individual  like  a  ruffled  grouse  who  thought  to  slay  his  interviewer  sum- 

117 


marily  with  "What  you  tell  me  goes  in  one  ear  and  out  the  other,"  as  he  made 
a  personally  conducted  tour  to  the  door.  Quickly  came  the  retort  courteous: 
"I  am  not  surprised  Mr.  -  -  there  is  nothing  there  to  stop  it." 

Now  comes  that  robust  type  that  would  probably  not  wince  when  getting 
it  back  in  kind  if  his  antagonist  could  fittingly  measure  up  to  his  standard  in 
words  and  deeds.  Picture  the  horned  and  forbidding  monster,  swollen  with 
pride  of  place,  who  greets  the  caller  as  though  he  were  going  to  swallow  him 
whole  and  allow  his  gastric  juice  to  do  the  rest:  "Well,  your  company  has 
one  H —  of  a  nerve  to  send  you  out  here  asking  me  for  business:  you  built 
a  station,  some  big  contracts  were  let,  but  you  were  all  looking  out  of  the  window 
when  I  wanted  a  slice,"  finishing  with  a  coup  de  grace,  "What  have  you  got  to 
say  about  that?"  His  caller  replied,  "I  guess  our  management  took  a  leaf 
out  of  your  book;  how  much  of  your  business  have  we  handled  in  the  past 
ten  years,  tell  me  that?"  We  learn  to  know  who  our  friends  are  and  when  we 
have  some  favors  to  place  we  don't  hurry  with  them  on  a  platter  to  the  people 
who  forget  our  route,  but  try  to  remember  those  who  realize  that  if  we  are 
lucky  we  run  a  train  or  two  about  once  a  week  out  west."  The  lengths  to  which 
some  folks  will  go  to  make  personal  a  neutral  issue  is  astonishing.  A  man  who 
had  been  employed  in  Chicago  by  a  firm  that  could  not  prevail  on  the  "C.  &  A." 
to  give  them  an  order,  came  to  Canada  to  work  for  an  Ontario  industry  and 
expressed  his  intention  to  gratify  that  grudge  by  witholding  shipments  of  the 
new  employer  from  the  railway  he  had  placed  under  the  ban. 

The  book  of  boors  will  admit  of  one  more  entry,  being  a  letter  I  have 
permission  to  reproduce,  which  was  addressed  to  one  snob  by  a  conscientious 
and  sensitive  young  agent  who  has  since  transferred  his  energies  to  another 
channel. 

Dear  Sir — 

The  three  sentences  below — 

"Who  are  you  and  what  do  you  want?"  "I  would  be  ashamed  to  be 
so  unpatriotic  as  to  work  for  Yankee  employers." 

"I'll  give  you  fellows  business  only  when  I'm  in  a  hole  and  cannot  do 
otherwise!" 

form  the  subject  of  this  communication  and  are  exactly  the 
text  and  sense  of  part  of  two  conversations  which  occurred  between  you  and 
myself — involuntarily  on  my  part — and  only  because  I  was  acting  on 
orders  while  in  the  capacity  of  an  employee  of  a  "U.S.A."  railway  seeking  a 
share  of  the  routing  of  the  freight  traffic  you  purchased  in  the  United  States 
or  shipped  westward,  and  which,  unfortunately,  you  controlled. 

No  longer  situated  where  behavior  and  language  like  yours  has 
opportunity  to  greviously  test  the  patience  of  myself,  (and  several  others), 
permit  me  to  allude  to  the  impression  you  create. 

When  people  of  your  calibre,  quite  devoid  of  consideration  and 
finesse,  receive  a  business  proposition  with  a  verbal  attack  couched  in  the 
tone  and  vernacular  of  your  moulding  shop,  they  are,  no  doubt,  running 

118 


true  to  form,  but  they  take  refuge  behind  the  assumption  that  there  is 
no  one  to  question  their  attitude. 

In  doing  so  they  indulge  in  a  cowardly  advantage  over  gentlemen 
who,  by  the  nature  of  their  employment,  from  president  down,  always 
have  to  remember  the  officials  higher  up ;  remember  also,  that  in  giving  free 
rein  to  their  human  resentment,  they  may  be  rewarded  with  a  letter  of 
complaint,  half  true  and  half  garbled,  sent  in  by  some  cad  to  an  officer 
disloyal  enough  to  first  believe  the  outsider. 

Reflect  on  how  disconcerted  your  son  might  feel  were  he  to  experi- 
ence the  misfortune  of  meeting  a  sour  tempered  individual  like  yourself 
when  first  coming  in  contact  with  the  commercial  public.  He  could  not 
do  himself  justice  nor  serve  you  well. 

The  proverb  says  "One  cannot  make  a  silken  purse  out  of  a  sow's 
ear,"  and  although  it  is  difficult  to  rebuild  what  the  man  in  the  street 
characterizes  as  a  "rough  neck,"  it  is  never  too  late  to  mend. 

The  isolated  class  referred  to  are  known  by  representatives  of  all 
businesses  and  are  tacitly  ostracized  when  the  army  of  decent  fellows  is 
being  discussed. 

"Please  heed  the  handwriting  on  the  wall" 

That  man  was  "misfit"  who  should  have  been  polishing  apples  for  a 
Greek — to  quote  Jack  Rose,  an  original  wit. 

After  bidding  adieu  to  the  friendly  personage  who  has  accepted  a  mild 
cigar,  but  uncontented,  megaphones  to  a  couple  of  others  at  the  rear  in  this 
wise,  "Here  Jake  and  Eddie,  get  in  on  the  cigars,"  our  conversation  in  the 
"smoker"  again  reverted  to  pianos  and  things  harmonious  and  cheerful. 
Genial  M.  T.  Case  recounted  how  fire,  while  in  transit,  rained  a  carload  of 
pianos  when  en  route  the  west  and  the  firm's  western  manager,  a  believer  in 
long  odds,  filed  a  claim  for  reimbursement,  itemizing  the  instruments  at  $500 
each.  /hen  the  railway  company  received  the  billet  doux  they  blinked  and 
may  have  said  "For  the  love  of  Mike"  or  something  less  classical  and  affection- 
ate. However,  as  soon  as  the  firms  attention  was  drawn  to  the  amount  of 
the  claim  the  manager,  with  good  judgment,  clipped  $200  off  each  piano  and 
a  prompt  settlement  was  arranged. 

Only  a  few  months  ago  an  organized  band  of  box  car  and  freight  shed 
thieves  stole  nine  pianos  and  four  phonographs  from  one  railway  company 
in  a  large  city,  and  to  date  six  had  been  recovered.  Claims  arising  from 
damage,  delay,  theft,  loss  and  wrecks  are  traffic  men's  enemies  that  play  the 
mischief  and  filter  through  all  departments  to  the  chief  legal  authorities. 
Of  late  years  the  railway  companies  have  been  stimulated  to  eternal  vigilance 
in  order  to  combat  daring  robbers  with  confederate  organization  quite  far 
reaching  and  involving  from  twenty  to  forty  people  within  the  ranks  of  em- 
ployees and  outside.  Such  a  gang  is  said  to  have  stolen  from  one  company  in 
four  months  goods  valued  at  $35,000,  comprising  candy,  cameras,  sugar, 
liquors,  musical  instruments  and  clothing.  The  investigation  departments 
have  recovered  from  beneath  hay  stacks  not  far  from  Toronto,  Canada,  for 

119 


instance,  forty  suits  of  underwear  and  a  dozen  pairs  of  ladies  high  suede  boots. 
Imagine  the  temerity  of  the  men  making  off  with  twenty  head  of  sheep  from 
under  the  eyes  of  yardmen  and  special  officers.  The  public  press  not  long 
ago  chronicled  details  of  the  loss  of  fifteen  sacks  of  flour  from  one  car  en  route 
Buffalo  to  Belleville.  Whiskey  is  an  outstanding  temptation  and  many  a 
headache  that  starts  rolling  fails  to  join  the  soda  waiting  at  the  other  end. 
Out  of  a  thirty  case  consignment  from  further  west,  making  the  one  night 
journey  from  St.  Thomas  to  Black  Rock,  there  checked  fifteen  cases  missing, 
lock,  stock  and  barrel — the  wood  only  of  four  cases  remained  and  eleven  cases 
were  intact.  Unmerited  onus  for  losses  is  now  and  then  thought  to  rest  with 
the  railroads  which  enquiry  does  not  substantiate.  A  well  known  firm  in  the 
congested  wholesale  zone  of  a  neighboring  city  engaged  a  detective  who  pussy- 
footed about  the  premises  for  a  year  without  locating  a  leak.  This  human 
bloodhound  may  have  had  a  cold  in  his  head  and  was  a  poor  scenter  as  it  was 
developed  later  that  the  shortages  were  manipulated  as  a  side  line  by  a  vinegar 
mill  shipper  who  got  away  with  also  $6,000  of  the  hardened  cider — mostly  re- 
covered— and  had  been  supplying  a  small  pickle  factory  through  the  medium 
of  a  carter  who  drove  up  daily  for  kegs. 

Railway  companies  very  seldom  pilfer,  but  the  action  of  more  than  one 
railroad  on  this  continent  in  appropriating  urgently  needed  steam  coal  billed 
to  others  during  the  winters  of  1917-18,  will  prepare  the  reader's  viewpoint 
for  a  claim  for  reimbursement  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Silverplate  Road, 
covering  fifty  cars  of  slack  coal,  lost  and  being  vigorously  traced,  which  that  line 
had  seized  and  hastily  dumped  into  a  big  washout  cavity. 

Whitewashing  coal  would  seem  to  be  a  labor  as  unheard  of  as  washing  the 
spots  off  the  leopard,  yet,  says  the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  that  apparently 
crazy  scheme  is  carried  out  by  some  western  railroads.  The  coal  is  white- 
washed, not  for  aesthetic  reasons,  but  simply  to  prevent  theft  in  transit.  Be- 
fore a  car  of  coal  starts  on  its  journey  the  top  layers  are  sprayed  with  limewater, 
which  leaves  a  white  coating  on  each  lump  of  black  coal  after  the  water  evapor- 
ates. The  removal  of  even  a  small  quantity  from  that  whitewashed  layer  is 
immediately  detected,  so  that  the  exact  junction  or  station  at  which  the  theft 
occurred  can  be  noticed. 

Once  upon  a  time  when  many  boys  were  investigating  the  fallacy  of  the 
supposed  transformation  of  a  black  horse  hair  into  a  snake  after  nine  days  so- 
journ in  the  rain  barrel,  a  loaded  oil  tank  car  was  glued  to  the  rails  in  Detroit 
yards,  but  urgently  needed  on  the  other  side  of  the  international  boundary. 
Giving  a  clear  receipt,  a  connecting  line  hooked  on  to  it,  but  almost  immediate- 
ly finding  the  tank  in  a  leaking  condition  because  the  discharge  pipe  had  been 
snapped  in  a  rough  shunt,  they  shot  it  back  to  the  original  carriers.  The 
latter  were  on  guard  and  refused  it,  the  tank  in  the  meantime  losing  200  gallons 
of  oil.  To  aggravate  matters,  a  third  railway  whose  office  was  to  deliver  the 
shipment,  looked  askance  at  the  "cripple"  and  thus  both  exits  were  closed. 
Despite  the  pleadings  of  the  consignees  for  the  oil,  the  middle  line  holding  the 
"white  elephant"  turned  to  them  a  deaf  ear  until  a  settlement  would  be  made. 

120 


After  much  fencing  and  correspondence  an  adjustment  on  a  mileage  basis  was 
arrived  at.  The  road  accepting  the  "bad  order"  tank  was  held  liable  for  a 
proportion  gauged  by  a  thirty  mile  haul,  and  the  comparatively  innocent  de- 
livering company,  being  ten  miles  longer,  drew  a  debit  of  $4,000. 

The  interpretation  of  a  maze  of  tariff  rates  and  a  thousand  lights  and 
shadows  affecting  their  application,  as  well  as  classification,  deadlocks  regard- 
ing analogous  goods  perplex  and  keep  bright  the  wits  of  railway  people,  that 
the  responsibility  may  be  placed  where  it  should  rest.  To  elucidate  this  remark 
let  me  refer  in  passing,  to  a  partly  demented  and  very  undependable  dealer  in 
a  commodity  that  was  barrelled — long  since  gone  to  his  reward — who  requested 
and  obtained  a  quotation  on  a  specific  shipment  of  twenty  cars,  each  to  con- 
tain a  stated  number  of  barrels,  which  were  to  be  of  agreed  size  and  weight. 
He  then  had  made  a  larger  barrel,  forwarded  the  product  in  them  and,  of  course, 
when  weighed  a  heavy  undercharge  claim  developed,  the  carriers  holding  the 
short  end. 

Different  from  this  was  the  experience  of  a  car  of  eastbound  California 
oranges  traveling  via  the  gorges  and  canyons  of  a  Rocky  Mountain  railway. 
A  broken  axle  precipitated  trouble  in  the  middle  of  the  train  which  threw  the 
"cripple"  out  of  alignment  and  in  shorter  time  than  is  consumed  in  relating  it, 
the  down-grade  impetus  and  pressure  wrenched  it  free  throwing  the  disabled 
car  clear.  It  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  gorge,  the  automatic  couplers  linked 
the  drawheads  of  the  separated  halves  of  the  train  and  no  one  was  wiser  until 
the  following  springtime  freshets  uncovered  the  debris  at  the  base  of  a  cliff, 
clearing  up  a  mystery  for  the  checkers  and  claim  department. 

Sparks  from  passing  locomotives  do  widespread  damage  to  crops  and  fen- 
cing and  a  battalion  of  agents  are  continually  engrossed  with  personal  injury 
matters  and  destruction  of  stock.  A  car  of  expensive  western  steers  was 
recently  heading  eastward  to  the  seaboard  when  early  in  the  morning  prairie 
grass  in  the  racks  of  troughs  igniting  from  sparks  started  a  blaze.  Being  under 
way,  the  crew  did  not  detect  the  trouble  at  once  but,  on  learning  the  danger, 
they  raced  to  the  water  tank  at  Ingersoll.  Before  the  water  was  reached  a 
draw  bar  pulled  out  and  broke  setting  the  emergency  brakes  hard,  jolting  the 
train  to  a  sudden  stop.  Fifteen  head  of  the  cattle  were  found  roasted  to  death 
and  three  jumped  from  the  car  and  ran  amuck  crazed  with  blisters  and  the  in- 
tense heat.  Railroading  is  not  all  profit.  Some  days  you  cannot  lay  up  a 
cent.  The  following  true  story  is  apropos: — 

"How  many  cows  have  you  now?"  inquired  the  visitor. 

"Eight,"  replied  Farmer  Corntossel,  discontentedly;  "all  comin'  home 
reg'lar  every  night  to  make  work  for  somebody." 

"I  understand  two  of  your  neighbor's  cows  got  hit  by  railway  trains  last 
week." 

"Yep.  An'  he  got  cash  fur  'em,  too.  I  don't  see  how  that  feller  trains 
his  cattle  not  to  shy  at  a  locomotive." — Washington  Star. 

121 


When  the  public  magnifies  the  cash  returns  from  ticket  sales  and  freight 
traffic  it  has  not  an  accurate  conception  of  the  immense  sums  paid  out  annually 
by  the  railway  companies  for  the  adjustment  of  even  small  claims.  Traffic 
Manager  Adam  Scott  of  the  F.  W.  Woolworth  Company,  with  eighty-five 
stores  in  Canada,  was  instrumental  in  having  authorized  during  the  past  fiscal 
year  $16,000  in  vouchers  issued  to  write  off  small  claims  on  less  than  carload 
shipments  of  glassware  and  crockery.  This  firm  controls  nine  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  stores  in  America  and,  the  sums  involved  in  this  phase  of  profit 
and  loss  must  be  immense. 

On  one  occasion  the  Great  Northern  Railway  wrote  the  Heinz  Pickle 
Company,  Leamington,  Ont.,  regarding  the  collection  of  an  undercharge 
amounting  to  $40.09,  which  arose  from  an  error  in  prepaying  the  freight  charges 
on  a  carload  shipped  to  Vancouver,  B.C.  The  Pickle  Company's  Traffic  Man- 
ager, at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  working  in  accordance  with  the  Inter-state  Commerce 
Act  Rules,  promptly  acknowledged  the  liability  in  an  elaborate  statement, 
with  cheque,  assuring  the  railway  company  that  the  correct  amount  of  the 
discrepancy  was,  on  further  investigation,  found  to  be  $80.45.  In  other  days 
we  all  knew  some  people  who  would  have  gasped  at  such  an  evidence  of  gratui- 
tous fair  dealing,  but  to  quote  from  William  Shakespeare,  the  listener  would 
be  fit  for  "treason,  stratagem  and  spoils"  whose  risibilities  are  not  tickled 
with  a  recital  of  the  claim  of  a  cautious  old  sexton,  made  on  the  Canadian 
Northern  Railway  at  Winnipeg  for  two  funeral  tellings  at  $2  each  which  he 
would  have  received  had  the  railway  delivered  the  expected  church  bell  in 
time.  And  so  the  old  world  and  the  amusing  people  on  it,  with  their  pleasan- 
tries and  foibles,  roll  across  the  stage  of  every-day  existence. 


122 


LINES  ADDRESSED  TO  FREDERICK  P.   NELSON 

Traveling  Agent,  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage, 
Hamilton,  Canada,  May  27th,  1912 

44\TI  7E  must  encourage  the  young,"  said  a  former  acquaintance  of  your 
V  T        father — a  benevolent  old  benedict  —  who  cheerfully  swung   into 
line  with  the  friends  wishing  to  mark  your  approaching  marriage 
and  who  would  honor  you  with  more  than  the  sentiments  expressed  herein. 

The  matrimonial  contract  of  that  railroading  knight  is  nearing  comple- 
tion; yours  is  about  to  be  undertaken  with  ideals,  hope  and  resolve.  Un- 
doubtedly the  trail  will  develop  many  joys  and  some  kinks  in  the  path,  but  we 
are  convinced  that  you  can  measure  up  to  the  best  traditions  of  the  lords 
of  creation.  Those  who  have  basked  in  the  rays  of  your  genial  personality 
prophecy  you  will  prove  docile  "In  bond"  and  all  of  us  will  "Watch  your 
smoke." 

You  spring  from  sturdy  stock,  long  identified  with  railway  construction 
in  Canada,  and  since  those  other  days  in  the  loft  of  Hamilton's  smoke  smeared 
freight  shed,  down  the  avenue  of  occupations  in  your  native  city,  abroad  in 
Western  Ontario  and  throughout  the  business  zone  of  Toronto,  few  dare 
question  your  reputation  for  urbanity,  commercial  sense  and  thoroughness. 
Where  master  and  man  wrest  for  silver  fortunes  in  Cobalt  Camp,  they  say 
your  methods  and  diplomatic  behavior  were  "as  smooth  as  a  kitten's  wrist" 
and  a  decided  asset  to  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway. 

As  a  reminder  of  your  bachelor  days  and  associations:  as  a  token  of  regard 
when  nearing  the  threshold  of  a  momentous  event  in  your  life,  accept  from 
subscribing  friends  whose  names  are  attached  hereto,  the  accompanying 
gift  of  dining  room  furniture — a  contribution  towards  your  household  gods. 

To  the  estimable  lady  who  is  to  become  Mrs.  Nelson,  please  convey  our 
profound  respect;  we  presume  her  journey  from  Brockville  to  Hamilton  will 
be  a  personally  conducted  tour.  You  both  have  our  earnest  and  best  wishes 
for  a  happy  future. 

For  the  Committees — J.  A.  YORICK,         C.B.  &  Q.R. 

J.  M.  COPELAND,  C.M.  &  St.  P.R. 
A.  S.  MUNRO,        G.T.R, 
LYNN  C.   DOYLE,  The  Irish 


123 


124 


HAMILTON,  A  HOTHOUSE  FOR  TRANSPORTATION  MEN 

Her  numerous  railway  and  navigation  sons  abroad 


L.  J.  BURNS,  D.F.A.,  Canada  Steamship  Lines. 
Toronto,  Ont. 

J.  J.  BYRNE,  Ass't.  Pass.  Traffic  Mgr.,  Santa 
Fe  Lines,  Los  Angeles. 

G.  J.  CHARLTON,  Pass.  Traffic  Mgr.,  Chicago  & 
Alton  Road,  Chicago. 

H.  W.  COWAN,  Operating  Mgr.,  Canada  Steam- 
ship Lines,  Montreal. 


K.  J.  FITZPATRICK,  T.P.A.,  L.V.R., 
Ont. 


Toronto, 


D.  E.  GALLOWAY,  Ass't.  to  President,  G.T.R., 
Montreal. 

J.  GORMAN,  Supt.   Dining  and  Sleeping  Cars, 
G.T.P.R.,  Winnipeg. 


E.  ALEXANDER 

Secretary,  Can.  Pac.  Railway 

Montreal,  Que. 


W. 

6.  A. 

J- 
j 

7.  T. 

8.  C. 


HERMAN,    Ex-General    Passerger    Agent, 
"D.  &  C."  Line,  Cleveland. 

HILTON,  Pass.  Traffic   Mgr.,  Frisco  Lines, 
St.  Louis. 

HORSBURGH,     Ex-Gen.     Passenger    Agent, 
Southern  Pacific  Railway. 

T.   LEWIS,   Superintendent,   Tenn.    Central 
Railway,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

MARSHALL,    Traffic    Manager,     Board     of 
Trade,  Toronto,  Canada. 


R.   MORGAN,   Ex-C.P.   &  T.A. 
Fighting  for  us  in  France. 


G.T.R.- 


9.     A.  S.  MUNRO,  Commercial  Agent,  G.T.R.,  London,  Ont. 

10.  G.  W.  NORMAN,  Traveling  Passenger  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Chicago. 

11.  H.  PARRY,  General  Passenger  Agent,  N.Y.C.  &  H.R.R.,  Buffalo. 

12.  N.  J.  POWER,  Ex-General  Passenger  Agent,  G.T.R.,  now  in  California. 
ROBERT  SOMERVILLE,  President,  Judson  F.  F.  Co.,  Chicago. 

13.  A.  A.  TISDALE,  Assistant  to  Vice-President,  G.T.P.R.,  Winnipeg. 

H.  E.  WATKINS,  General  Eastern  Canadian  Agent,  Great  Northern  Railway. 

14.  R.  J.  S.  WEATHERSTON,  Division  Freight  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Stratford,  Ont. 
N.  VAN  WYCK,  Purchasing  Agent,  Canada  Steamship  Lines,  Montreal. 

15.  J.  A.  YORICK,  Canadian  Agent,  C.B.  &  Q.R.,  Toronto,  Canada. 


125 


A  PILFERED  POT-POURRI 

Timid  Traveler  vs.  Tantalizing  Ticket  Clerk  at  the  Bureau  of  Information 

Ticket  Clerk — Where  do  you  wish  to 

go,  Sir? 
Timid  Traveler — Well,  what  stations 

have  you? 
T.C.— We    have    Portland,    Oregon 

and  Portland,  Maine. 
T.T.— Which  is  the  cheapest? 
T.C. — To  Maine  for  $15  and  tax,  if 

you  sit  up  nights. 

T.T. — It  hadn't  orter  come  so  high, 
I  paid  my  taxes! 
Can  you  carry  me  to  New  York 
State,  please? 
T.C. — Delighted,    if     I     could,    but 

you're  too  heavy. 
T.T. — (Puzzled).   I  mean  could  you 

sell  me  through  to  the  Bronx? 
T.C. — The  strange  animals    are    all 

there — you  might  be  caged. 
T.T.— Well  then,  lona  Station? 
T.C. — What  station  do  you  own? 
T.T. — You  seem  stupid,  I  mean  I  might  go  to  lona  Station. 
T.C. — You  have  my  permission,  Ruben. 
T.T. — I  do  want  to  go  there  in  the  worst  way. 
T.C. — Then  don't  use  this  line,  we're  the  best  way — P.D.Q.  way. 
T.T.— Oh  indeed,  what  does  "P.D.Q."  mean? 
T.C. — I  hate  to  tell  you. 
T.T. — But  listen,  my  dear  young  man: 
T.C. — Nay,  Caesar,  I'm  not  your  dear  young  man! 
T.T. — May  I  leave  this  basket  of  potatoes  in  the  Office? 
T.C. — Read  that  warning: 

ALL  PARCELS,  PACKAGES  AND  GRIPS  LEFT  AND  NOT 

CHECKED,  MUST  BE  CHECKED  OR  THEY  CANNOT  BE 

LEFT  IN  THE  DEPOT. 

T.C. — What  kind  of  nuggets  are  the  spuds? 

T.T. — Early  Rose,  my  fine  fellow. 

T.C. — Some  mistake,  never  knew  Rose  to  rise  early  since  Daylight  Saving 

came. 

T.T. — When  will  the  2.00  o'clock  train  come? 
T.C. — One  sixty. 
T.T.— Will  she  be  long? 


The   Timid   Traveler. 


126 


T.C.  —  Oh,  about  seven  cars. 

T.T.  —  Does  she  arrive  soon? 

T.C.  —  She's  about  due,  there  comes  the  conductor's  dog. 

T.T.  —  Where  will  she  come  in,  you  Smart  Aleck? 

T.C.  —  Right  behind  the  engine  to-day,  I  think. 

T.T.  —  How  long  will  she  wait  here? 

T.C.  —  From  two  to  two,  to  two  two! 

T.T.  —  (Musingly),  he  thinks  he's  the  whistle  on  the  locomotive. 

What  part  of  the  train  do  you  consider  most  dangerous? 
T.C.  —  Dining  car,  answered  the  dyspeptic. 
T.T.  —  What  became  of  the  other  clerk  who  was  here? 

T.C.  —  In  the  asylum  —  one  day  a  woman  got  a  ticket  without  asking  questions. 
T.T.  —  Mercy  Mister,  this  is  terryble,  give  me  a  ticket  to  Moffat's  Corners. 
T.C.  —  Can't  give  you  one,  but  I  will  sell  it. 
T.T.  —  Why  is  my  train  arriving  so  late? 
T.C.  —  It's  just  like  this:  the  train  ahead  is  behind,  and  this  train  was  behind 

before  besides. 
T.T.  —  Ma'  conscience! 

When  they  found  the  old  gentleman  towards  sundown,  he  had  wandered 
to  the  yard  limits  and  was  seated  in  a  free  reclining  chair  car  waiting  for  a 
hair  cut.  On  hearing  the  doctor's  diagnosis:  "Reason  undermined,"  he  was 
assisted  to  an  ambulance,  as  a  hoot  own  settled  on  the  bridge  at  midnight, 
and  a  yellow  fog  enveloped  the  sleeping  city. 


A  DESERVED  REBUKE 

Speaking  of  "Back  talk"  at  a  railwaymen's  dinner,  President  Howard 
Elliott  of  the  New  Haven  Lines,  expressed  sympathy  for  an  employee  tempor- 
arily under  unbearable  conditions  and  explained  that  when  the  conductor  was 
punching  tickets  a  man  said  to  him,  with  a  nasty  sneer  —  "You  have  a  lot  of 
wrecks  on  this  road,  don't  you?"  "Oh  no,"  said  the  conductor,  "You're  the 

first  I've  seen  for  some  time". 

PHILADELPHIA  BULLETIN 


ONCE  WAS  ENOUGH 

A  sweet  young  thing  who  had  not  traveled  much,  was  riding  on  a  high 
speed  interurban  trolley  noted  for  its  accidents. 

"How  deliciously  dangerous",  she  was  thinking  as  the  conductor  approached. 
"How  often  do  you  kill  a  person  on  this  road?"  she  enquired.  The  ticket  col- 
lector smiled  and  as  he  pocketed  her  coupon  he  said,  "Just  once,  Miss". 

ELECTRIC  SERVICE  MAGAZINE 

127 


THE  TRANSPORTATION  CLUB  OF  TORONTO 

Although  the  members  of  this  Club  carefully  safeguard  their  Death  Benefit  Fund 
and  derive  profit  from  periodical  addresses  delivered  to  them  by  qualified  speakers  on  topics 
of  specific  or  general  interest,  they  have  realized  that  all  work  with  trains  or  traffic  affairs 
and  no  play,  is  an  unwise  plan  of  campaign.  Until  war  time  exigencies  discouraged  the 
practice,  the  Transportation  Club  indulged  in  an  Annual  June  outing. 


Some  incidents — not  posed  for — photographed  at  Jackson's  Point  Picnic. 


THE    TRAIL   OF   THE   SERPENT 

4  ^  "•      ET  go  the  balloon  and  come  to   earth    you    crimson-thatched,    wind- 
I         jamming   bush    ranger,"    called    Tommy    Nelson,    president    of  the 
Brantford  Green  Socks,  from  the  convention  hall  vestibule  to  dis- 
cursive Claudius  O'Toole,  manager  of    the    Ottawas,  and    the    centre    of    a 
group  following  on  the  flight  of  steps  above. 

"Heraus  mit  him!"  vamoose  with  that  lingo  you  ivory-crested  Fenian, 
we'll  shoot  your  team  in  the  air  like  puffed  rice  from  a  Quaker  Oats  gun," 
was  the  manager's  quick  rejoinder,  as  he  lighted  a  fragrant  panatela. 

" You'll  think  you  are  playing  in  a  vat  of  molasses  when  our  merry  men 
begin  to  stampede  your  bronchos,"  continued  Mr.  Nelson,  winking  at  Duff 
Adams  and  Will  Lahey  to  the  accompaniment  of  covert  snickers  from  the 
near  by  delegates  dispersing  after  the  session. 


AT  THE  BALL  GAME 
The  members  and  guests  in  the  circular  group  ardently  participated. 

THEY  ARE: — E.  CALLAGHAN,  General  Agent,  B.  &  L.E.R.,  Toronto,  W.  J.  CONNELL,  Traffic  Manager,  Linington, 
Connell  Co.,  Toronto;  L.  L.  GRABILL,  General  Baggage  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Toronto;  Late  JOHN  GRAY, 
Agent,  G.T.R.,  Toronto;  F.  G.  GOULD,  Traveling  Freight  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Toronto;  W.  J.  HAMILTON,  Cana- 
dian Passenger  Agent,  L.V.R.,  Toronto;  T.  JACKSON,  Traffic  Manager,  Jackson  Manufacturing  Co.,  Clin- 
ton; F.  JACKSON,  Merchant,  Clinton;  JOHN  JOLLY,  Contracting  Freight  Agent,  C.P.R.,  Toronto;  R.  McRAE, 
Accountant,  G.T.R.,  Toronto;  P.  G.  MOONEY,  Assistant  General  Freight  Agent,  C.N.R.,  Toronto;  T.  MULLINS, 
City  Passenger  Agent,  C.P.R.,  Toronto;  F.  P.  NELSON,  C.C.,  D.F.A.,  G.T.R.,  Hamilton,  and  JOHN  RANSFORD, 
Passenger  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Clinton. 

SOME  OF  THE  PLAYERS  WERE:— H.  C.  BOURLIER,  G.A.P.D.,  C.N.R.,  Toronto;  H.  A.  CARSON,  C.F.A.,  G.T.R.,  Mont- 
real; A.  CRAIG,  C.P.A.,  C.P.R.,  Hamilton;  GEO.  DONALDSON,  C.F.A.,  G.T.R.,  Toronto  (Overseas) ;  T.  HAGARTY, 
L.F.O.,  G.T.R.,  Toronto;  R.  M.  HAMILTON,  Superintendent,  Hendrie  Co.,  Hamilton;  W.  M.  HOOD,  D.F.  & 
P.A.,  C.N.R.,  Sudbury;  W.  J.  HOTRUM,  C.C.L.A.,  G.T.R.,  Toronto;  H.  J.  LECLAIR,  T.P.A.,  C.N.R.,  Quebec; 
TOM  LOCKWOOD,  T.A.,  Allan  Line;  C.  McHARG,  M.C.P.A.,  T.H.  &  B.R.,  Hamilton;  A.  J.  MITCHELL,  L.O., 
G.T.R.,  Toronto;  J.  A.  MORICE,  Import  Department,  C.P.R.,  Toronto;  H.  PETERS,  Fruit  Merchant,  Toronto; 
I.  G.  REECE,  C.P.A.,  C.N.R.,  Ottawa;  H.  J.  ROBERTS,  C.C.,  D.T.A.,  C.P.R.,  Toronto;  R.  M.  SEDGEWICK, 
Traffic  Manager,  Standard  Chemical  Co.;  S.  S.  STACKPOLE,  G.C.F.A.,  P.R.R.;  J.  THOMSON,  Superintendent, 
Canadian  Transfer  Co.,  Toronto;  E.  R.  THORPE,  City  Freight  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Toronto;  C.L.  WORTH,  C.C., 
M.D.,  G.T.R.,  Toronto. 


"Ho!  Hp!  merry  men  and  molasses  is  it?  We'll  feed  them  the  syrup  to 
sweeten  their  tempers  after  the  Redskins  scalp  their  cow-licks  and  curly-me- 
Q's,"  the  Ottawas'  chief  exclaimed. 

''Your  bunch  of  pretenders  would  grade  about  Tenth  in  the  Western 
Classification  and  that's  the  tariff  rating  the  railways  give  sand,  bricks  and 
other  heavy,  commodities"  answered  the  director  of  the  Green  Sox. 

"Believe  me,  President  you  have  a  raft  of  flotsom  and  jetsom  as  variegated 
as  a  hedge  of  Sweet  William;  a  flock  of  tortoises  I  call  them,"  responded  the 
ladylike  O'Toole,  appropriating  the  last  word. 

However,  "Opinion  is  private  property  which  the  law  cannot  seize," 
the  old  saw  says. 

As  with  all  other  mortals  of  divers  pursuits,  these  ball  tossers  can  stand  just 
so  much  baiting  and  then  they  bristle  like  an  old  cock  when  young  chantecler 
invades  his  yard  reaching  for  high  C.  With  plenty  of  such  good  natured  badi- 

129 


nage  and  the  dissemination  of  unlimited  sunshine,  the  owners  and  managers 
of  the  clubs  composing  the  Inter-lake  League  finished  the  early  spring  meeting 
convened  to  arrange  the  games  schedule  for  the  current  season,  making  due 
allowance  for  national  holidays  and  discussing  railway  fares  with  ticket  agents 
Jack  Campbell,  Albert  Craig  and  J.  B.  Doran.  This  league  comprised  the 
Brantford  Green  Socks,  Knotty  Lee's  Hamilton  Bengal  Tigers,  Saints  of  St. 
Thomas,  home  town  of  Bob.  Emslie,  National  League  umpire,  and  Gladstone 
Graney  with  Lajoie's  Cleveland  "Naps";  also  the  Cockneys  of  London,  where 
Pittsburg  Pirate  George  Gibson  dwells  neighborly  beside  the  railway  trium- 
virate Messrs.  Ernie  Ruse,  Harry  MacCallum  and  Hubert  Hays,  with  Ottawas 
of  Ottawa  and  Peterborough  Blue  Jays  completing  the  roster.  The  rivalry 
and  fortunes  of  the  bustling  sextette,  as  will  later  be  seen,  ebbed  and  flowed 
between  Brantford,  the  hub  of  two  thirds  of  the  circuit,  presided  over  by  presi- 
dent Silent  Thomas  Nelson,  C.P.A.,  G.T.R.,  nick-named  the  "Sphinx"  for  his 
wisdom  and  ability  to  guard  a  secret  deal,  as  far  east  as  Ottawa  on  the  big  river 
where  Claudius  O'Toole  had  cajoled  and  berated  his  henchmen  into  winning 
the  bunting  the  season  before. 

When  the  present  Mr.  O'Toole  was  yet  a  squalling  infant  the  suffering, 
patient  sponsors  saw  to  it  that  his  name  was  set  down  in  the  vestry  register  as 
"Claudius"  with  the  saint's  name  Dominick  added,  but  the  creepy  nickname 
"Spider"  automatically  clung  to  "Claude"  like  the  monkey  man  to  the  neck  of 
the  famous  Sinbad  the  sailor  who  figured  in  Arabian  Nights.  The  youth 
grew  rangy,  with  long  shifty  legs,  and  his  arms,  ornamented  with  grapplers, 
seemingly  as  numerous  and  resourceful  as  the  tentacles  of  a  cuttle  fish,  were 
the  wonder  and  pride  of  the  freshmen  at  St.  Augustine's  Seminary  who  doted 
on  his  prowess  and  perennial  good  nature. 

At  all  times  an  awed  respecter  of  Irish  tradition,  Spider  O'Toole  rever- 
enced St.  Patrick's  memory  in  full  measure,  and  like  that  venerable  sainted 
man,  could  not  tolerate  anything  that  wriggled:  and  who  could  blame  him. 
The  word  "cringe"  was  not  in  his  encyclopaedia  and  as  he  never  "crawled" 
himself,  he  abhorred  spiders  and  snakes  as  the  devil  scowls  on  piety.  With 
him  they  were  as  popular  as  a  horse  thief  in  Utah.  His  dislike  for  cobras, 
constrictors,  rattlers  and  all  that  ilk  that  do  the  hesitation  glide  without  legs, 
was  no  spasmodic,  abnormal  antipathy,  mark  you,  born  of  flirtations  with  the 
grape  when  purple,  for  he  had  never  been  known  to  arrive  at  a  condition  super- 
induced by  an  over-indulgence  in  the  bottled  and  popular  elements  of  convivi- 
ality. Always  a  man  of  nerve  and  aggressiveness,  he  shunned  those  toy  cam- 
eras and  fake  electric  pocket  flashes,  concealing  jumping  adders  as  he  would 
the  wails  of  the  family  Banshee,  while  buggy  whips  and  garden  hose  lying 
about  in  the  gloaming  were  sure  to  send  shivers  gamboling  up  and  down  his 
spinal  network.  Naturalists  tell  us  the  sagacious  elephant,  big  as  he  is,  will 
promptly  side-step  a  lizard — and  why  not? 

One  rainy  evening  after  the  teams  of  the  Inter-lake  League  had  rid  them- 
selves of  Charley-horse,  glass  arms  and  proud  flesh,  and  were  schooled  and 
whipped  into  tolerable  fettle  for  the  ordeal  of  endurance  and  dexterity,  with 

130 


the  opening  day  a  short  week  off,  Thomas  Nelson,  President  of  the  Green  Sox, 
met  Spider  O'Toole  with  others  of  the  clan  in  the  Algonquin  Hotel  rotunda. 
With  them  were  Francis  Nelson,  Sporting  Editor  of  the  Globe,  Dick  Kearns, 
Fitzgerald  and  Charlie  Good,  and  near  by  in  the  billiard  room  Harry  Thorley 
and  Billy  Hamilton  were  making  some  fancy  shots  with  a  party  they  were 
booking  to  Europe,  via  the  L.V.R.  and  White  Star  Line.  Said  Thomas  quite 
carelessly,  to  Claudius,  as  he  shifted  the  position  of  an  undiscernable  portion 
of  Piper  Heidseick  from  one  cheek  to  the  other,  "We  think  we  have  better  than 
an  even  break  with  the  Ottawas  on  dates  for  the  season's  schedule  Mr.  O'Toole: 
in  other  words,  my  Christian  friend,  I  have  the  edge  on  you." 

Oh,  have  you  Mr.  Sphinx — well  don't  strain  your  diaphragm  gloating  over 
that  paper  advantage:  I'll  dull  your  edge  so  badly  that  you  will  have  your 
spavined  free  lances  at  the  horse  shoers  in  a  month,  I  will,  so  I  will  and  I'll 
leave  it  to  your  friend  Ira  Thomas,  Mitch.  Thomas  or  St.  Thomas. 

"I  trow  not,  Spider.  We  have  gathered  in  the  net  as  fine  a  cluster  of 
brilliants  as  ever  crossed  the  Giant's  Causeway  since  the  days  the  Gauls  hung 
to  the  branches  with  their  tails.  I  hope  Connie  Mack  is  unaware  of  their 
speed." 

"Mr.  McGillicudy  is  still  a  young  man:  too  bad  to  have  him  choke  to  death 
with  laughter  and  he  in  his  prime,"  commented  Claudius  O'Toole. 

"The  Green  Stockings  are  a  lot  of  limber  base  ball  professors,  bright  as 
patent  stove  polish,  and  when  your  kindergarten  is  introduced  to  their  science. 

At  this  juncture,  Will.  Connell  and  Harry  Watkins  with  the  "Great  Nor- 
thern", who  had  just  come  in  from  the  theatre  after  enjoying  Dick  Sheridan's 
"School  for  Scandal",  naively  enquired  if  Mr.  O'Toole's  redskins  would  win 
their  opening  game  with  the  Peterborough  Bluejays  a  week  hence,  adding 
"The  birds  are  touted  tough  as  hickory  and  hard  nuts  to  crack". 

"We'll  crack  their  kernels  as  sure  as  Hades  is  a  man  trap,"  said  the  Spider, 
"or  make  them  work  so  hard  they'll  ferment  and  blow  their  heads  off." 

"As  a  precaution,  have  your  willie  pink  collegians  remove  their  hobble 
skirts,"  chimed  in  Tom  the  Sphinx,  with  a  significant  smile. 

"If  the  Bluejays  loom  such  a  menace  to  our  aspirations,  gentlemen," 
retorted  O'Toole,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "my  humorous  contemporary  of 
the  Brantford  Green  Legs  had  better  buy  nine  shrouds  now  and  fix  a  date  for 
the  wake." 

"Too  much  levity  Spider,  too  much  levity:  'a  sooty  chimney  spoileth 
many  a  beefsteak'.  Do  be  advised"  continued  Nelson,  childlike  and  bland. 
The  Green  Sox  team  has  one  batter  who  is  a  potential  phenomenon.  On 
a  clear  day  he  can  propel  the  sphere  across  the  lagoon  to  the  Cape  Verde  Islands 
and  make  it  sizzle  so  that  the  natives  think  it  is  a  Jack  Johnson  or  a  sputtering 
meteor  from  Mars." 

This  was  intended  to  spike  the  mortar  of  the  rangy  collegian  but  it  didn't. 

"See  here,  Mr.  President,  be  careful  that  no  one  hangs  crepe  on  your  nose 
or  the  public  will  get  on  to  the  fact  that  your  brain  is  dead",  was  the  response. 

131 


"I'll  bet  Senator,  the  Irishmen  will  stitch  up  your  savages  so  neatly  they 
will  be  about  as  effective  as  a  camera  fiend  in  a  London  fog." 

"If  that  strain  is  put  on  us,"  cried  OToole,"  "I'll  ride  a  slippery  log  over 
the  Chaudiere  Dam  at  Ottawa  and  you  can  be  there  to  see  from  the  bridge 
north  of  the  Chateau  Laurier."  And  he  wished  later  there  was  bark  on  that 
log. 

Some  one  said  "Would  you  indulge  in  a  mild  libation  if  properly  ap- 
proached?" and  a  wag  you  all  know  said  "We  do  not  know  you  well  enough 
to  refuse  you,  is  the  gentleman  with  the  'still'  exclusive?" 

"So  exclusive,  my  boy,"  was  the  reply,  "that  you  have  to  be  both  a  True 
Blue  and  a  Knight  of  Columbus  to  gain  an  entree" ,  and  with  that  their  voices 
died  away  in  the  distance. 

Tim  Mullins,  Mel.  Thomson  and  Jim  Edwards  of  the  G.T.R.,  who  came 
up  from  Ottawa  said  at  dinner  the  day  Peterborough  and  Ottawa  clashed  that 
Spider  O'Toole  refused  spaghetti  because  it  squirmed  and  slid  off  his  fork  like 
the  tempter  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  he  finished  the  meal  without  ridding 
himself  of  a  half-defined  presentment  of  evil.  It  beats  the  Dutch  what  odd 
little  whims  and  superstitious  notions  some  of  those  base  ball  players  cherish 
and  permit  to  influence  their  daily  actions  and  fortunes. 

Try  to  develop  on  the  film  of  your  memory  the  picture  of  a  moderately 
expansive  diamond  and  outfield,  the  grass  exceptionally  abundant  on  account 
of  the  adjacent  moisture  and  the  entire  enclosure  surrounded  by  the  shapely 
maple  and  a  variety  of  other  trees  adorned  with  vivid  spring  foliage.  Include 
in  the  perspective  the  hurrying,  foamy  waters  of  the  serpentine  Otonabee  River 
flanking  the  parkside  before  spreading  wide  to  the  harbor  beyond  and  you 
glimpse  the  arena  where  Claudius  O'Toole  lost  his  first  game  to  the  merciless 
Bluejays  and  likewise  his  wager. 

These  were  the  home  grounds  of  the  Peterborough  Bluejays,  and  the  players 
located  on  the  chessboard  as  strategetically  as  might  be,  were  there  "with  the 
lard  in  their  hair,"  eager  to  circumvent  the  Ottawa  nine  and  provide  an  inter- 
esting premiere  that  afternoon  for  their  supporters  who  buzzed  with  expectancy 
and  speculation,  tier  over  tier,  as  the  early  innings  progressed. 

Jim  Skinner  and  E.  T.  Carr  encouraged  the  Jays,  and  in  the  telegraph 
cupola  where  Tony  Webster  was  at  the  key,  sat  Jimmie  Anderson,  Jack  Tin- 
ning and  John  Melville,  hoping  to  ticket  the  players  to  Western  Ontario. 

Considerable  betting  and  some  odds  had  been  laid  here  and  there  on  the 
result  among  the  fans  and  normal  local  adherents,  and  in  several  outside  quar- 
ters anticipation  was  keen,  but  down  in  the  reeds  and  stone  piles  beside  the 
rushing  eddies,  where  a  large  water  snake  and  his  partner  were  basking  with 
several  smaller  amphibious  creatures  in  the  sunshine,  nothing  was  known  of 
all  this.  The  pair  in  sable  and  bronze  habiliments,  displaying  the  activity  and 
boldness  peculiar  to  the  breed  in  mating  season  and  their  need  of  food  after 
long  hibernation,  were  fearlessly  foraging  beside  the  sedge  at  the  river's  edge, 
and  woe  betide  the  luckless  chub  in  the  shallows  or  lazy  frog  on  shore  caught 
napping.  The  ball  ground  outfield  ran  down  close  to  the  river,  terminating 

132 


at  a  high  fence,  and  was  uniform  and  level  save  for  a  few  depressions  in  the 
black  loam  where  was  once  a  swamp.  Owing  to  the  dampness  and  shade  the 
grass  refused  to  grow  hereabouts.  The  game  progressed  with  tantalizing 
uncertainty  until  the  pivotal  seventh  innings,  the  advantage  resting  first  with 
the  Bluejays  and  then  with  the  Redskins.  At  this  point  the  Ottawas  gained 
the  ascendancy  with  a  batting  rally  and  Spider  O'Toole,  who  played  deep 
centre  field,  worked  closer  in  stimulating  his  men  with  "Ginger  up  Germany, 
to  the  youth  at  second — you  can't  coax  a  living  from  the  public  on  that  form." 
And  again,  to  the  young  spitball  pitcher,  "Steady  Slim,  nice  work  lad,  take 
your  time,  you  have  them  coming  and  going  as  easy  as  pulling  on  an  old  glove." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  eighth  inning  the  score  stood  4-4  and  the  Spider's 
braves  in  their  half  of  the  ninth  chalked  up  but  one  more  circuit  as  the  Blue- 
jays,  though  nervous  did  not  crack  and  were  making  no  costly  errors.  The 
stands  began  to  rumble  as  the  home  players  went  to  bat  for  the  last  time,  a 
boy  clinging  to  an  over-hanging  branch  called  "Oh  Mr.  O'Toole,  we'll  make 
you  take  your  gruel"  and  the  palpable  excitement  of  some  of  the  ladies  who 
were  on  their  feet,  caused  otherwise  sober  spectators  to  turn  the  meeting  into 
temporary  pandemonium  with  waving  arms,  hats  and  vocal  extravagances. 
M.  J.  Baker  and  his  friend  Jamieson,  came  with  the  saints,  and  the  stentorian 
tones  of  Stanton  A.  Baker,  representing  the  "Great  Western",  calling  the  plays 
to  Tommie  Gormally  and  Harvey  Hagerman  over  at  Oshawa,  could  be  plainly 
heard  above  the  din. 

In  the  midst  of  the  uproar  Eddie  D —  -  and  his  acquaintance  O.  G.  C. 
Willard,  faultlessly  attired,  when  passing  the  grand  stand,  and  thus  perchance 
unconsciously  giving  the  ladies  a  treat,  overheard  an  Old  Country  friend  with 
John  Ransford  exclaim, 

"Aw,  my  word,  this  is  a  strange  game!" 

"How  so  strange?"  queried  John. 

"The  players  seem  to  have  an  unlimited  license  to  indulge  in  personalities, 
don't  you  know — hear  how  they  'rat'  each  other!" 

"They  don't  mean  it,  those  boys  are  milk-fed,  college-bred,  and  the  salt 
of  the  earth",  explained  the  sage  from  Clinton. 

"My  Eye,  observe  the  pitcher  and  catcher  are  even  now  conspiring  to  beat 
the  batter",  continued  the  newcomer. 

"Oh,  that  is  only  camouflage  to  deceive  the  enemy,  replied  his  host." 
The  visitor's  marked  impartiality  towards  the  stubborn  progress  of  the  con- 
tending teams  recalls  the  attitude  of  the  lady  whose  husband  was  in  mortal 
combat  with  a  grizzly  bear,  exclaiming,  "I  never  saw  a  fight  I  cared  so  little 
about  who  won". 

As  was  prognosticated,  the  heavy  hitter  to  Cape  Verde  Islands  arose  to 
the  occasion  and  smacked  a  fair  one  on  the  nose  to  left  which  the  fielder  fumbled. 
He  lead  off  a  dozen  feet  and  made  second  with  a  hook  slide  when  a  foul  tip 
clipped  the  catchers'  finger  and  the  ball  rolled  to  the  screen.  The  tension 
increased.  From  where  he  stood,  legs  apart  and  watchful,  O'Toole  stormed 
and  upbraided  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  swearing  by  the  web-footed,  bald-headed 

133 


• 

Siamese  twins,  while  the  pitcher  and  backstop  conferred.  The  umpire's  indi- 
cator shewed  two  men  on  bases  and  no  one  out  when  the  third  birdman  stepped 
over  to  the  plate  and  stood  motionless  as  Sejanus  on  his  horse.  His  plan  or 
the  captain's  orders  counseled  a  waiting  policy,  and  such  patience  was  repaid 
with  four  balls,  earning  first  base,  forcing  his  mates  and  filling  the  bags.  Whoops 
and  yells  tore  jagged  holes  in  the  atmosphere,  and  even  momentarily  discon- 
certed the  fourth  and  last  friendly  batter.  "Slim"  threw  him  a  swift  ball  at 
which  he  swung  to  no  purpose,  and  it  lodged  with  a  resounding  plop  in  the 
cavity  of  the  catcher's  mitt.  Again  the  man  on  the  mound  moistened  the  now 
soiled  horsehide  and  repeated  the  performance,  but  the  strain  was  terrific  and 
his  features  registered  it  plainly.  The  next  one  was  low  and  wide.  Once 
more  he  threw,  transmitting  decided  curve  to  the  sphere,  but  it  lacked  sustained 
velocity  and  slowed  down  in  progress.  The  waiting  batter  saw  his  opportunity, 
breathed  a  fervent  " Welcome  Mr.  Spalding"  and  received  it  squarely.  The 
ball  sailed  over  the  pitcher's  head  and  past  the  shortstop's  clutching  digits  just 
at  the  instant  Spider  O'Toole  was  vociferating  "Oh,  you  son  of  a  snail".  This 
compliment  to  the  exhausted  "Slim"  smothered  in  his  mouth  as  he  realized 
the  sphere  was  heading  to  his  territory.  True  to  instinct,  his  tentacular  me- 
chanism sprang  alert  and  making  a  sanguine,  mighty  vault  his  fingers  just 
touched  the  ball,  the  contact  and  a  puff  of  wind  diverting  its  course  and  down 
it  came  behind  him  not  far  off.  The  dirty  ball  ceased  rolling  two  yards  away, 
resting  in  one  of  those  shady,  somewhat  deep  hollows  in  the  black  loam  close 
to  the  river  bank  and  fence.  Alive  to  the  crucial  situation  quivering  at  half 
cock  on  the  diamond  and  savagely  intent  on  thwarting  the  runners  as  well  as 
to  maintain  his  lead,  the  Spider  spun  round  in  a  flash  of  time  and  half  blindly 
leaping  on  the  dirty  horsehide  stumbled,  falling  at  full  length  face  down  as  his 
hand  closed  over  the  coveted  ball. 

O  ye  hooting  witches  of  the  midnight  orgy  and  screeching  jagaurs  squirm- 
ing in  the  fatal  coils  of  Columbian  pythons,  never  was  there  such  a  scream  and 
succession  of  fearful  cries  emitted  as  arose  from  the  prostrate  player  rolling 
over  and  over  before  the  multitude  in  an  agonized  struggle  to  right  himself. 
The  approaching  bay  of  a  hungry  winter  wolf  pack  in  full  tongue  is  unequalled 
as  a  shudder  producer  and  fearful  indeed,  our  ancestors  say,  were  the  howls 
of  redskins  bent  on  massacre.  The  field  and  stand  had  never  listened  to  these, 
but  they  heard  Spider  O'Toole  and  were  transfixed  with  thrills  in  speechless 
anticipation.  Wild  eyed  and  sweating  they  found  him,  the  grimey  ball  still 
in  his  grasp  and  two  water  snakes  wound  about  his  wrist  and  forearm  with 
ugly  heads  and  forked  tongues  shooting  this  way  and  that  as  their  bodies 
writhed  and  rubbed  his  bare  skin  in  efforts  to  free  themselves  from  his  power- 
ful clutch,  poor  O'Toole  dancing  in  near  convulsions,  meanwhile  beseeching 
the  rescuers  to  free  him  from  the  loathsome  girdle.  It  would  appear  that  the 
reptiles  had  come  out  of  the  water,  as  they  sometimes  do,  and  after  the  manner 
of  their  kind,  curled  up  together  and  gone  to  sleep  in  one  of  the  swampy  de- 
pressions close  to  the  fence  bounding  extreme  centre  field,  and  this  was  the  hand- 
ful the  fingers  of  Claudius  O'Toole  closed  on.  The  shortstop  and  fielder  who 
first  reached  their  horrified  leader  state  sub  rosa  that  he  was  muttering  pieces 

134 


of  prayers,  swearing  on  the  bones  of  King  Kelly,  and  vowing  by  Ptolemy's 
ancient  mummies  that  he  would  nail  those  flying  runners  at  the  plate.  In 
his  wanderings  he  was  heard  to  mention  "Log  over  the  Chaudiere",  "See  their 
flat,  evil  heads"  and  "St.  Patrick  to  the  rescue". 

When  the  commotion  subsided  and  the  contented  Peterboroughese  were 
discussing  the  absorbing  topic  on  their  way  home,  Mister  O'Toole  disrobed 
in  the  dressing  room  and  while  introducing  his  friends  Gerald  O'Flaherty  and 


THOMAS  J.  NELSON, 

City  Passenger  and  Ticket  Agent,  G.T.R.,  Brantford,  Ont.; 
former  President,  Brantford  Baseball  Club. 


Jimmie  Goodall  to  Mr.  Nelson,  declared  by  all  the  hairy  chested  "oorang 
ootangs"  in  the  Zambesi  Country  that  he  would  in  future  manage  his  team  from 
the  bench  when  they  clashed  with  the  Bluejays  at  home.  Therefore  you  may 
not  view  Spider  O'Toole  in  action  again  beside  the  winding  Otonabee  River, 
but  sooner  or  later,  he  will  emulate  a  spike-heeled  river  driver  with  peavie  in 
hand,  riding  a  pine  log  over  the  Chaudiere  in  order  that  a  pound  of  flesh  may 
be  delivered  to  Silent  Tom  Nelson,  President  of  the  Brantford  Green  Sox. 


135 


A  HAPHAZARD  CHRONOLOGY 

1804— Richard  Trevithick  experimented  in  England  with  the  earliest  type  of 
steam  locomotive  and  it  is  said  that  his  son  F.  H.  Trevithick,  was  the 
first  locomotive  superintendent  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway. 

1807 — Fulton  introduced  the  use  of  a  steam  propelled  vessel  on  the  Hudson 
River,  which  proved  a  practical  success  in  handling  passengers  and  goods 
between  Albany  and  New  York. 

1809 — Period  of  the  first  steamboat  operated  between  Quebec  and  Montreal 
on  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 

1814,  July  25 — George  Stephenson,  Father  of  Railways,  successfully  operated 
his  steam  locomotive  "Blucher"  in  the  coal  country  of  the  Tyne,  at  four 
miles  per  hour,  which  was  the  first  real  inception  of  steam  engines  as  a 
commercial  possibility. 

1816     S.S.  "Frontenac"  was  the  earliest  Lake  Ontario  steamer. 

1825— Stockton  &  Darlington  Railway  opened  to  traffic  in  England. 

1828 — Saw  the  first  steam  driven  train  in  America,  operated  by  the  South 
Carolina  Railway,  South  Carolina. 

1830— The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railway  engine  "Tom  Thumb"  was  used. 

1831 — Witnessed  the  launching,  according  to  Doctor  Sandford  Fleming,  of 
S.S.  "Royal  William"  which  completed  a  passage  from  Quebec  to  Lon- 
don, England,  in  1833,  consuming  25  days  from  Pictou,  N.S.  One  of 

136 


the  owners  was  Samuel  Cunard,  born  in  Halifax,  N.S.,  who,  with  his 
brothers,  created  the  nucleus  of  the  now  famous  Cunard  Line.  In  June, 
1894,  a  brass  tablet  commemorating  the  event  was  unveiled  in  the 
Parliamentary  Library  at  Ottawa,  by  Lord  Aberdeen. 

1832,  July  31 — First  American  Railway  train  on  the  Mohawk  &  Hudson  Ry. 
which  ran  between  Albany  and  Schenectady,  N.Y.  The  train  was 
pulled  by  engine  "John  Bull"  which  came  from  England  in  S.S.  "Mary 
Howland".  It  heads  this  chronology.  Among  other  passengers  in  the 
last  coach  was  Thurlow  Weed,  Esq.,  Editor  Albany  Evening  Journal 
and  ex-Governor  Yates.  The  footnote  states  that  in  the  second  coach 
traveled  Jacob  Hays,  a  celebrated  New  York  thief  catcher. 

1832 — First  railway  charter  issued  in  Canada  to  Champlain  &  St.  Lawrence 
Railroad,  an  18  mile  line  from  La  Prairie,  Quebec,  on  the  St.  Lawrence 
above  Montreal,  to  St.  Johns,  Quebec,  on  the  Richelieu  River.  The 
motive  power  was  horses  until  steam  engine  replaced  them  in  1837. 

1837 — Cumberland  Valley  Railway,  in  Pennsylvania,  is  said  to  have  used  the 
first  sleeping  car. 


1838,  April  3 — Lieutenant  Roberts,  R.N.,  set  sail  from  Cork,  Ireland,  in  the 
two  funnelled,  one  master  "Sirius"  of  the  St.  George  Steam  Packet 
Company,  with  forty  passengers  at  35  guineas  per  capita,  and  arrived 
at  New  York  in  19  days,  being  the  earliest  steam  vessel  crossing  from 
Europe  to  America. 

1850 — First  public  proposal,  as  a  practical  enterprise,  to  lay  a  Trans-atlantic 
cable,  made  by  Right  Reverend  J.  T.  Mullock,  Catholic  Bishop  of 
St.  Johns,  Newfoundland,  which  American  Trans-atlantic  Telegraph 
Company  realised  in  1867  under  the  chairmanship  of  Peter  Cooper, 
the  philanthropist. 

1851,  Sept. — At  Boston,  Mass.,  occurred  a  three  day  jubilee  to  celebrate  the 
connection  by  railway  of  Montreal  and  Boston,  at  which  President  Fit- 
more  of  United  States  and  Lord  Elgin,  Queen  Victoria's  representative 

137 


in  British  North  America,  were  prominent  amongst  a  large  gathering 
of  distinguished  international  visitors. 

1851—2 — First  international  suspension  bridge  erected  over  Niagara  River  by 
Great  Western-New  York  Central  Rys.  The  engineer  was  John  A. 
Roebling,  it  cost  $400,000,  kites  were  used  to  carry  across  the  first  ropes. 
The  late  Bob.  Lewis  was  telegraph  operator  at  Suspension  Bridge  at 
that  time  and  Ferdinand  Richardt  painted  from  a  daguerreotype  the 
picture  of  this  bridge  from  which  D.  L.  Glover  engraved  any  prints 
extant. 

1852-3 — Inauguration  of  Ontario,  Simcoe  &  Huron  Railway.  Incorporated 
1849,  it  was  the  first  of  Ontario's  lines  and  ran  from  the  foot  of  Brock 
Street,  Toronto,  to  Collingwood,  on  Georgian  Bay.  It  became  the 
Northern  Railway  1859,  amalgamated  with  the  Hamilton  &  North- 
wester?! Railway  1884,  and  was  merged  into  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway 
1888. 

The  Lady  Elgin,  Ontario's  first  locomotive,  made  for  the  O.S.  & 
H.R.,  came  in  parts  from  Portland,  Maine,  1852,  traveled  via  Oswego, 
N.Y.,  and  vessel  to  Toronto,  and  John  Harvie,  lately  deceased  in  that 
city,  was  the  first  O.S.  &  H.R.  conductor  in  charge  of  the  train  this 
engine  pulled,  Carlos  McColl  was  the  first  driver  and  Joseph  Lopez  was 
the  first  fireman  of  that  ancient  locomotive.  It  was  broken  up  and 
melted  in  1881. 

TOO  MUCH  NERVE  TONIC 

Timid  Party — "This  train  seems  to  be  traveling  at  a  fearful  pace  Ma'am! 
I  feel  nervous." 

Stolid  elderly  female — "Yus — aint  it?     My  Bill's  a-drivin'  of  the  ingin'  an' 
'e  can  make  her  go  when  'e's  got  a  drop  o'  drink  in  'im. — Tit  Bits'" 

1853 — Telegraphy  was  used  by  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway.  H.  P.  Dwight  is 
said  to  have  been  the  father  of  the  utility  in  Canada. 

1853-4-5 — Great  Western  Railway  of  Canada  built  from  Niagara  Falls  via  Lon- 
don to  Windsor  beside  Detroit  River. 

1853-63 — C.  J.  Brydges  was  managing  director,  respectively  of  the  Great 
Western  Railway  and  Grand  Trunk  Railway  in  Canada. 

1854,  July  22 — Victoria  Bridge  over  St.  Lawrence  River,  which  cost  $7,000,000, 
was  started  and  in  November,  1859,  it  was  opened  for  traffic. 

1855 — H.  C.  Bourlier,  formerly  Western  Passenger  Agent  Allan  Line,  Toronto, 
was  manager,  agent  and  conductor  of  trains  on  48  miles  of  line  from 
Point  Levis  to  St.  Thomas,  Quebec,  on  the  I.C.R.,  which  he  designated 
the  "Tommy  Cod"  Line. 

138 


lXf)(),  Oct.  27 — The  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  incorporated  1852,  operated  its 
first  train  from  Montreal  to  Toronto  in  fourteen  hours,  the  Quebec 
Metropolis  celebrating  the  event  by  a  banquet  in  the  Point  St.  Charles 
Shops  when  4,400  people  sat  down  beside  a  mile  of  tablecloth. 

1858 — Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad  experimented  with  George  Pullman's  car 
and  Colonel  J.  L.  Barnes,  afterwards  for  years  superintendent  on  the 
the  Santa  Fe  System,  was  the  first  parlor  car  conductor. 

1860-63 — A  brother  of  John  Bell,  late  General  Counsel  of  Grand  Trunk  Ry., 
genial,  humorous  Robert  Bell,  built  and  managed  the  Prescott  &  Bytown 
(Ottawa)  Railway,  an  early  undertaking  born  of  many  vicissitudes, 
which  resorted  in  extremity  to  wooden  rails  to  enter  Bytown. 

1864 — The  first  successful  trial  of  a  railway  postal  car,  assorting  mail  matter 
in  transit,  occurred  on  the  "C.  &  N.W.R."  and  other  lines. 

1869 — A.  O.  Pattison,  now  G.T.R.  Agent  at  Clinton,  Ont.,  was  ticket  seller 
with  the  "G.T.R."  at  Brantford,  Canada,  in  the  days  of  C.  J.  Brydges 
and  W.  J.  Spicer.  Conductors  Ausbrooke  and  David  McHaffy  were 
his  contemporaries. 

1869 — Toronto,  Grey  &  Bruce  Railway,  Toronto  to  Owen  Sound,  Ont.,  and 
Teeswater,  was  built  by  Edmund  Wragge. 

1869-1875 — Walter  Shanley,  a  Montreal  railway  engineer,  constructed  the 
Hoosac  Mountain  Tunnel.  He  was  a  Canadian  M.P.  and  lived  for  forty 
years  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Hotel  at  Montreal. 

1871 — John  Francis,  youthful,  alert  and  clever,  was  day  operator  and  ticket 
clerk  in  the  old  station  at  Prescott  Junction,  Ont.,  laying  the  foundation 
with  a  little  wrestling  and  scuffling  thrown  in,  for  his  gradual  progress 
to  the  General  Passenger  Agency  of  C.B.  &  Q.R.,  Chicago. 

1873-4 — International  Bridge  from  Black  Rock,  N.Y.,  to  Fort  Erie,  Ont., 
endorsed  jointly  by  C.G.W.R.  and  G.T.R. ,  built  at  a  cost  of  $2,000,000, 
was  opened  to  traffic  at  this  time.  C.  Czowski  and  D.  L.  Macpherson 
were  the  contractors.  Thomas  Matchett,  now  C.T.A.,  C.P.R., 
Lindsay,  Ont.,  was  installed  as  the  first  telegraph  operator  at  Fort  Erie 
by  H.  P.  Dwight,  Superintendent  of  Montreal  Telegraph  Co.,  Toronto. 

1876 — Intercolonial  Railway,  opened  for  traffic  Levis,  Quebec,  to  the  Maritime 
Provinces,  was  constructed  under  commissionership  of  C.  J.  Brydges. 

1881 — Nicholas  Weatherston  managed  the  Grand  Junction  Railway  at  Belle- 
ville in  this  year.  A  graduate  of  the  "Great  Western",  he  was  long 
with  the  Intercolonial  Ry.  at  Toronto,  and  his  father  commenced  work 
in  1835  on  the  Normanton  &  Leeds  Railway  built  by  the  famous  George 
Stephenson. 


139 


o  Regime  of  the  late  (Sir)  William  Whiti'  and  John  W.  Loud,  at  the-  period 
of  the  G.T.R. — G.W.R.  merger,  Toronto,  when  George  Pepall,  Asst. 
Foreign  Freight  Agent,  G.T.R.  to-day,  was  Inwards  Freight  Clerk  and 
D.  cle  Cooper,  now  C.F.A.,  L.V.R.,  wras  employed  on  the  "Outwards" 
desk. 

1891,  Dec.  7 — St.  Clair  Tunnel,  Sarnia,  Ont.,  to  Port  Huron,  Mich.,  opened 

to  travel.     It  was  begun  in  1888,  cost  $2,500,000  and  was  electrified  in 
1906. 

Entries  in  diary  of  E.  de  la  Hooke,  London,  Canada — City  Ticket  Agent, 
Grand  Trunk  Railway.  Callers  who  registered  at  his  office: — 

1892,  Jan.  6 — Snowing  heavily — 

J.  J.  McCarthy,  West  Shore 
Edson  Weeks,  P.  &  R. 
J.  A.  Richardson,  Wabash 
J.  H.  Morley,  C.  &  N.W.R. 
H.  D.  Armstrong,  M.P.R. 

1892,  Jan.  20 — Bright,  30  degrees  below  zero;  lunched  at  Tecumseh  Hotel 
with : — 

J.  N.  Bastedo,  Santa  Fe 
J.  M.  Huckins,  G.N.R. 
Jim  Steele,  C.P.R. 
A.  J.  Taylor,  St.  Paul  Road 

1892,  July  18 — "Grand    day,    but    Oh   my,    another   hot    'un".     Meeting    of 

Grand  Lodge.     Callers  who  registered : — 

Wm.  Askin,  Beatty  Line 

C.  W.  Graves,  G.T.R. 

W.  G.  McLean,  C.P.R. 

A.  Patriarche,  F.  &  P.M. 

T.  Ridgedale,  N.P.R. 

P.  J.  Slatter,  G.T.R. 

L.  Wheeler,  Clover  Leaf  Route. 

1892 — Toronto,  Hamilton  &  Buffalo  Railway  Company  secured  charter,  its' 
nucleus  being  the  18  mile  Brantford,  Waterloo  &  Lake  Erie  Railway, 
their  Waterford  extension  opened  1895  and  the  Buffalo-Toronto  through 
service  was  inaugurated  June,  1897. 

1893,  Jan.  18 — Entries  in  diary  of  E.  de  la  Hooke,  London,  Canada — "Bliz- 

zard, one  listener  frozen".     Visitors  registered  were: — 
W.  R.  Callaway,  C.P.R. 
M.  C.  Dickson,  G.T.R. 
J.  D.  Hunter,  Allan  Line 
McCormick  Smith,  C.B.  £  O.R. 
W.  B.  Murray,  Erie  Rd. 

140 


1893,  March  23 — Bright,  mild,  springlike: — 

Howard  J.  Ball,  D.L.  &  W. 
B.  H.  Bennett,  C.  &  N.W.R. 
Phil.  Hitchcock,  D.L.  &  W. 
W.  E.  Rispin,  G.T.R.,  Chatham 
S.  J.  Sharpe,  Erie 

1893,  Sept.  28 — Bright,  glorious  morning — Entries — 
G.  T.  Bell,  G.T.R. 
J.  Guerin,  C.  &  N.W.R. 
Will.  Jackson,  Clinton 
B.  W.Johnson,  U.P.R. 
J.  G.  Laven,  M.C.R. 
H.  G.  Thorley,  White  Star  Line 

1895,  Jan.  1 — Sunshine,  cold  and  dusty- 
New  Year  gift,  Eastern  Line  commissions  all  withdrawn. 

1895 — Henri  Menier,  famous  French  Chocolate  King,  secured  possession  of 
Anticosti  Island  in  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  first  fiefed  by 
Louis  XIV  in  1680  to  the  explorer  Sieur  Louis  Joliet,  and  Senator  Gaston 
Menier  now  uses  the  30  mile  Anticosti  Railway  to  market  the  island's 
pulpwood. 


SCENE  ON  THE  ANTICOSTI   RAILWAY 


141 


1895,  Feb.  7 — Coldest  yet,  lines  blocked — Callers  to  register: — 
W.  E.  Belcher,  N.P.R.  R.  S.  Lewis,  L.V.R. 

A.  J.  Macdougall,  111.  Cent. 
R.  F.  MacFarlane,  Dominion  Line 
W.  J.  Mason,  N.P.R.  A.  J.  Spurr,  C.B.  &  Q.R. 

1895,  July  12 — Very  hot  and  close,  circus  in  town,  L.O.L.  William  III— 
J.  H.  Duthie,  Dominion  Line 
W.  Hatch,  R.  &  O.N.  Co. 
W.  B.  Lanigan,  C.P.R. 
C.  E.  Macpherson,  C.P.R. 

1897,  July  20 — Extract  from  E.  de  la  Hooke's  diary: — Arrival  in  London  of 
Geo.  B.  Reeve  and  official  car  party,  including  Geo.  T.  Bell,  W.  E. 
Davis  and  J.  E.  Quick. 

Other  agents  in  town  who  dropped  in  at  the  Clock  Corner  were: — 

P.  F.  Dolan,  Gorge  Route 

Geo.  McCaskey,  N.P.R. 

C.  E.  Morgan,  G.T.R. 

H.  J.  Rhein,  Big  4  (L.S.  &  M.S.) 

1902,  Oct. — Canadian  Ticket  Agents'  Association  held  its  annual  meeting  in 
Washington,  D.C.,  this  being  their  first  convention  taking  place  outside 
of  Canada. 

1902 — Conductor  James  Guthrie,  who  so  ably  handled  the  special  train  on 
tour  with  their  Royal  Highnesses,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cornwall 
and  York — now  the  King  and  Queen — was  complimented  in  special 
letters  for  his  appearance  and  deportment  on  this  occasion  by  Geo.  T. 
Bell,  G.P.A.,  and  Superintendents  Brownlee  and  Gillen. 

1903 — National-Transcontinental    Railway — 1,804    miles    Moncton,  N.B.,  to 

Winnipeg,    planned   by   the   Laurier   Administration,   was   begun   this 

year. 

1903-04 — Canadian  Government  issued  a  charter  to  Colonel  Floyd,  Cobourg, 
4   and  others,  authorizing  the  Campbellford,   Lake  Ontario  &  Western 

Railway  from  Cobourg  to  Campbellford,  which  became  the  nucleus  of 

the  "C.P.R."  Lake  Shore  Line  to  Ottawa. 

1904,  March— C.  B.  Foster,  then  D.P.A.,  C.P.R.,  and  J.  O.  Goodsell,  C.P.A., 
U.P.R.,  gave  a  supper  of  clams  and  drawn  butter,  periwinkles  and  toast, 
with  good  fellowship,  to  fourteen  railway  guests  at  the  Leader  Lane 
Cafe,  Toronto,  Ed.  Sullivan,  Proprietor. 

1907 — Tehauntepec  Railway,  190  miles  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific  Oceans,  con- 
structed by  British  capital  and  partly  controlled  by  the  Mexican  Gov- 
ernment, was  this  year  opened  to  traffic. 

1908,  Sept.  22-23— American  Association  of  General  Passenger  and  Ticket 
Agents  held  their  53rd  annual  convention  at  Toronto. 

142 


1909,  Nov.  30— At  Queen's  Hotel,  Toronto,  W.  R.  Callaway,  G.P.A.,  Soo 
Line,  was  tendered  a  luncheon  by  railway  men  and  personal  friends 
equally  represented.  A.  J.  Taylor  in  the  chair. 

1909 — St.  Valentine's  Day — The  Rainy  Day  Club  convened  at  the  King  Ed- 
ward Hotel  and  received  William  Shakespeare's  report  on  the  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor. 

1911,  March  17 — J.  D.  McDonald  tendered  a  farewell  banquet  to  mark  his 
promotion  to  position  of  A.G.P.A.,  G.T.R.,  Chicago. 

1911,  Sept. — Aerial  post  first  attempted  in  Great  Britain  between  London  and 

Windsor  and  proceeds  devoted  to  public  charity. 

1911-12,  April — Fat  stock  shows  at  Clinton,  where  some  laundries  were  pur- 
chased and  addresses  made  on  intensive  cultivation  of  the  juniper  bush 
by  railroading  honorary  judges. 

1911-12— $180,000,000  was  total  cost  of  Grand  Central  Station  and  environs, 
built  by  the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Ry. 

1912,  May  1 — Richard  Tinning  completed  fifty  years  with  "G.T.R."  in  Can- 

ada and  was  given  complimentary  dinner,  diamond  pin  and  purse. 

1914,  April  7 — Cy.  Warman,  engineer,  Denver  reporter,  publicist  and  success- 
ful writer  of  railroading  prose  and  verse — once  with  "G.T.R."  adver- 
tising department — died  in  Chicago  this  date. 

1914,  July  24 — A  century  of  locomotive  use  was  appropriately  celebrated  when 
a  410  ton  "Centipede"  engine  of  the  Erie  Railroad  pulled  250  loaded 
cars,  weighing  21,000  tons,  a  distance  of  40  miles  at  15  miles  per  hour. 

HANDY  ANDY 

"Can  you  run  an  engine,"  said  the  yardmaster  to  Martin  Maguire? 

"Can  I  run  an  engine,"  sniffed  the  bold  Hibernian;  "there's  nothing  I'd 
rather  do  than  run  a  lokeymootive  all  day  long.  Huh!  Can  Oi  run  an 
engine?" 

"Suppose  you  run  that  engine  into  the  round  house,"  suggested  his  boss. 

Bluffing  Martin  climbed  into  the  cabin  with  his  orders  in  his  mind,  looked 
the  ground  over,  spat  on  his  hands,  grabbed  the  largest  handle  and  gave  it  a 
mighty  yank.  Zip!  away  went  the  engine  into  the  roundhouse.  Guessing 
the  trouble  ahead  he  reversed  the  lever  clear  back.  Out  she  went — in  she 
went — and  out  again. 

Then  the  chief  yelled,  "I  thought  you  said  you  could  run  an  engine?" 
And  Ma'rtin  Maguire  quickly  replied,   "Oi  had  her  in  three  times,  why 
didn't  you  shut  the  door?" 

1915 — $113,000,000  in  taxes  was  paid  by  United  States  Railways. 
1917,  Oct.  17 — The  first  train  rolled  over  the  new  Quebec  Bridge  and  trans- 
continental link. 

143 


1917,  March  17 — The  Alfalfa  Club  gathered  and  performed  with  eclat.     Owing 

to  the  date  and  name,  somebody  suggested  that  the  green  tablecloth 
be  used  and  many  witticisms  and  bon  mots  were  exchanged. 

1918 — Grand  Trunk  Railway  System,  composed  of  about  125  lines,  that  had 
early  independent,  statutory  beginnings,  celebrates  her  66th  birthday. 

1918,  March — President  T.  Woodrow  Wilson,  U.S.A.,  signed  the  bill  which 

empowered  Director  General  of  Railroads,  W.  G.  McAdoo  to  assume 
complete  control  of  the  railways  of  the  United  States. 

1918,  April — United  States  railroads  "off  the  line"  agencies  in  Canada  and  in 
many  "American"  centres,  withdrawn  for  the  period  of  the  war. 

1918,  May  15 — America's  first  aeroplane  mail  service  inaugurated  between 
Washington,  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  President  Woodrow  Wilson 
receiving  the  first  letter  from  Governor  Charles  S.  Whitman,  New 
York. 

1918,  August  18 — Aero  Club  of  Canada  promoted  through  Royal  Air  Force, 
first  temporary  weekly  aerial  mail  between  Leaside  Aerodrome  (Toronto), 
to  Ottawa. 

The  frontispiece  photograph  of  passenger  train  is  an  early  edition  of  the 
Empire  State  Express,  by  courtesy  of  the  N.Y.C.  &  H.R.R. 

The  Frontispiece  lettering  was  executed  by  Harry  Moyer,  cartoonist  of 
Toronto  Daily  Star. 

The  Frontispiece  conductor  is  Mr.  D.  J.  Carson,  former  Chairman  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Railway  Conductors,  Toronto,  a  popular  vocalist  who  is  widely 
known  by  patronizers  of  C.P.R.  trains  running  between  Toronto  and  Hamilton, 
Ontario. 

The  pen  and  ink  decoration  for  "Navigators  of  the  Blue"  is  the  work  of 
Miss  Alberta  L.  Tory,  daughter  of  Mr.  Alfred  Tory,  Storekeeper,  Grand  Trunk 
Railway,  London,  Ont. 

The  half-tone  engravings  used  in  this  book,  with  a  few  exceptions,  were 
made  by  the  British  &  Colonial  Press,  Limited,  Toronto,  Ont. 


144 


BALLAD   TO  THE  BROTHERHOOD 

DESPITE  the  rush  of  commerce  and  distractions  linked  to  life, 
Forgetting  one  brief  moment  all  the  noise  and  ceaseless  strife: 
Reflection's  voice  reminds  me  that  with  ebbing  tide  of  time, 
Floats  away  a  merry  epoch — hear  ye  not  the  watch  bells  chime? 
Dear  friends  and  faithful  colleagues  on  this  strand  and  o'er  the  sea, 
I  recall  your  proffered  kindness  and  your  courtesy  to  me. 

Memory  serves  to  paint  a  picture  shewing  changes  in  the  past: 

'Tis  well  the  Reaper's  scythe  is  stayed  until  the  die  is  cast. 

Though  our  day  is  dark  and  troubled  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  Might, 

All  trust  the  scourge  will  vanish  like  the  mystic  flight  of  night. 

Let  encouragement  and  counsel  nourish  hope  and  banish  fear, 

May  the  bonds  of  friendship  strengthen  and  expand  from  year  to  year. 

We've  had,  methinks,  more  happy  times  than  sorrows  in  our  lives, 

To  you,  Messieurs  a  bumper — to  your  sweethearts,  daughters,  wives; 

Here  is  hoping  that  prosperity  and  robust  health  be  yours, 

For  you  a  peaceful  future  is  the  wish  my  heart  conjures: 

And  when  that  silent  Skipper  with  his  phantom  craft  steals  'round, 

May  he  steer  us  safely  over  to  the  Happy  Hunting  Ground. 


145 


YOU  EAT  A 

CHRISTIE 
BISCUIT 

YOU  EAT 
THE  BEST 


CHRISTIE,  BROWN  &  CO., 

LIMITED 


146 


THE  QUEEN'S  HOTEL 

TORONTO,  ONT. 


400  ROOMS 

120  of  them  en  suite  with  bath;  long  distance 
telephone  in  every  room;  elegantly  furnished 
throughout;  cuisine  and  service  of  the  highest 
order  of  excellence.  Pleasantly  situated  near 
the  lake  and  beautifully  shaded;  it  is  cool, 
quiet  and  homelike. 

American  and  European  Plans 

McGAW  &  WINNETT,  PROPRIETORS 


147 


The    High    Class    Hotel    with 
Moderate    Rates 


HOTEL  BRESLIN 

Broadway  at  29th  Street 
NEW  YORK 


The  New  York  Home 
for  Canadians 


THE  ONLY   OPEN   AIR  CAFE 
IN   THE  CITY 


Restaurant  Prices   Most   Moderate 


148 


pI 


lHIIIIIIIIIIlH 


C.  A.  BOGERT,  General  Manager 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiil 

r  I 


1    I  THE 

I  I      DOMINION         ! 
I  I  BANK 

ESTABLISHED  1871 
I         1  \         \ 

Head  Office    -    Toronto 

II  II 

i  !      I 

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Traveller's  Cheques  and  Letters 

of  Credit   Issued   at  Favorable 
Rates 


BIBIOII 

149 


HE  2808  .C66  1918  SMC 
Copeland,  John  Morison. 
The  trail  of  the  swinging 
lanterns  47082959